Knight of the Night
by Minako Kurosu
Summary: Incognito has been silenced, and Integra Hellsing sits in her cell awaiting execution as an alleged terrorist and traitor to the crown. Alucard enters and offers her the chance of immortality. Will she be a knight of the night? And more importantly, will the shifting tides of change in her life draw her into the night itself, or its king who swears himself to her?
1. End and Beginning

**Hello lovelies! So, I know I've been absent for a long time (no surprises there, I fear), but I have returned. To offer tribute for my lack of faithfulness to you, my delightful readers, I have begun a revamp on this series of mine. I've edited a bit here, added some heat there, and fixed up my grammar and writing style (because I'm a perfectionist). I've updated all current chapters, and will be writing many over the course of this week and the next. After that, I'll be gone for a while. But! I promise to finish this before I go. Much love.~**

She liked the darkness.

While most children demanded to be coddled with partially-lit play rooms and a hoard of stuffed animals to shield them from the many half-masked threats and promises of the night, she had welcomed her father closing and locking her bedroom door, immersing her in utter blackness that descended upon her like a blanket. She did not fear what could lie hidden; she did not shudder at what she could not see. Bereft of limiting senses such as eyesight, she was free to focus on the surreal. She would lie awake for hours on her small bed, weaving a future full of meticulously calculated plans and trump cards. Such a gift of foresight was not only typical but required of the Hellsing bloodline.

They must never be caught off guard.

They must be ready for anything, and at any moment.

Only they could tackle the monstrous shadow of the supernatural, pinning it beneath humanity's fist where it belonged.

She was no exception; she proudly assumed the title of her family, making sure to parade its bearing with dignity and excellence. Her childhood musings in the darkness had helped her become the fine specimen of Hellsing that she was now.

Yes, Sir Hellsing had not a single complaint to give about the darkness of the room she know sat in. The provider of this room had grimly anticipated her to break under the dank shadows and sour stench of its enclosement, but in truth, it wasn't even that dark to her. The single, stumpy candle on the table luxuriously loaded with a three course meal and a bottle of red wine was as brilliant as the sun to her usual light-starved eyes. How often had her great-aunt chastised her for reading in a nearly dark room?

"This is why you need glasses!" the old woman had scolded. "You'll ruin your eyes, and trust me, child, you'll miss them later! A blind Hellsing is a dead one, my dear."

A wry smile twisted her sharp features. The old crone had been right, of course. Her glasses had gone from being useful to being a necessity; she was blind without them, but the cost was well worth it. Her mind worked best in the blackness, and she had always loved to read.

There were no books here, though. The one thing this room lacked was a decent book. She had even been allowed a cigar and a comfortable mattress.

_Pretty cushy, for a bloody prison cell, she mused smugly. But I suppose it pays off to be a reputed arrogant, vengeful dyke._

Integra Hellsing, was, of course, nothing of the sort. Well…they had her pinned when they referred to her as arrogant or prideful, but she accepted this gracefully. She was probably one of the few Englishwomen who still maintained a sense of patriotism and honor, so people could think what they wanted. Vengeful? Well…her temper was a bit short. But as to the last…

Integra fingered the collar of her suit. Maybe if she reverted to wearing soft, lacey skirts and gowns instead of a full suit, people would stop with their ridiculous attempts at childish jibes. No. She couldn't stand frills and ribbons; not even business-like ones. Her stiff, plain suits were easy to procure and betrayed no demotivational weakness so often held by women. She was no ordinary woman, and people's opinions were not about to change her mind on that. People were unimportant. England and the crown were what mattered to her. If dressing like a man and enduring gossip and pitiful insults were the only cons of performing her duties, being the leader of the Hellsing organization had become a frolic through the park and a child's tea party at noon.

Continuing to smile in her own emotionless manner, Integra Hellsing slouched on the side of her prison bed, drawing lazily on the cigar the guards had allowed Walter to bring from the mansion. Of course, infantile attempts at mockery were far from the only detriments of her job. At the moment, fulfilling her duty to queen and country had landed her under the suspicion of the entire military and labeled her as a would-be terrorist. She might even lose her head, if she didn't tread delicately.

Death. It was laughable, a mere stormy child that was apt to throw a tantrum or two. In light of the nature of her work, it had become almost surreal, a force that only dared to violate those under her command. She had been at its door only recently; it was nothing to be afraid of. But then…was she ever really afraid of anything? What mattered most was the fact that the demon-vampire's threat had been vanquished. The mission was complete, the recent target silenced by her most powerful trump card. If she were to die, so be it. She would march to her death with her head held high, the last of the Hellsing line giving her blood and her breath for her country.

Footsteps echoed through the stone room, cutting her thoughts short. She was no longer alone.

_I never have been alone._

A white-gloved hand lifted up the wine glass as Alucard slid out of the shadows.

"Integra."

He very rarely referred to her by her first name. His voice, a deep, purring rich tone, reverberated around the closed walls and into her chest. She was startled by her name, startled by his tone, but she didn't let it show. She acknowledged his presence with a brief shrug and continued her brooding stare at the opposite wall.

"My master."

Familiarity. This was their conventional relationship. She turned to look at him. His liquid crimson eyes were masked by those ridiculous, gaudy orange lenses, and his face was twisted into its usual inhuman grin, revealing the tips of his fangs and the wild, destructive spirit only she could command.

Integra Wingates Hellsing. Even chained down by these simpletons, she still radiated all the power and confined animalistic qualities that had so earned his respect and devotion. Her pale, sharp face housed cold blue eyes that could leap to life with fire and lightning, and the white blond hair that framed these deceptive orbs cascaded down her back in its usual manner. Nothing about her had changed, but he could sense her willingness to end everything and cease to exist.

His master would not be silenced.

These pathetic mortals could not have her. He felt the beginnings of a snarl in the depths of his being, but restrained himself. Many thought of Sir Integra Hellsing, the youngest member of the Round Table, to be a cold and inhuman being incapable of feeling any sort of emotion save for self-righteous wrath and stilted arrogance as she looked down upon the world of men she deemed lesser than herself. But in actuality, she was a goddess, a being of so many emotions and passions that the mortal world could simply not comprehend and thus blinded themselves to it. He had seen these qualities leap to life behind her eyes an incountable number of times as she lived her life. She had grown up beneath his watchful gaze, solidifying his belief that she and only she would ever command him. She not only required his service by the bonds of an ancient agreement between him and her family; she reached out and tore it out of his heart with her iron will and the exhilerating conflagration of her spirit. He had once promised himself that he would die for her, die with her if need be. But now, after his recent victory over Incognito and admitted brush with Death, he resolved that neither of them would ever die.

It was time.

Time to make the Offer. It was the last Time.

"Your orders?" he queried, a gentle mockery of the bond they had once shared. Everything had changed now; the world was moving on, and they had to move with it to survive.

Integra continued to stare at him in her cold, calculating manner. She could be so maddeningly…human. To confine such a divinity in a mortal shell was blasphemy itself.  
>He crushed the wine glass in his hand, feeling the breath-quickening sensation of glass slicing through his skin. A mixture of blood and wine dripped from his fist, taunting her silently. The blood of a vampire.<p>

She didn't flinch as the blood splattered before her eyes. A chuckle reverberated from the vampire's chest as he looked down at her, eyes visible through the angle of his glasses. They were wide with maddened anticipation, and she knew his words before they cut through the air.

"The decision is yours."

Droplets of blood crashed musically into the small ocean of their bretheren on the floor, and Integra smiled, realizing the opportunity her current situation had suddenly opened up before her.

"Hm."

Alucard's grin widened. She was actually considering the possibility for once. He would not fail this time.

She had refused him so many times, and her rejection had always been cutting, immediate, and laced with fury.

"Shut up! How dare you even consider that I would accept such a hideous offer?" Her British pride had flared up so suddenly the first time he had mentioned the Offer that he had laughed at her in his unique, manic fashion. Eyes snapping, she had slapped him, silencing him instantly. "Do you even stop to think?" she had demanded. "I am Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. My family has been a long and noble line of vampire hunters, protecting the crown of England and her people for centuries. As the last of the line, it is my duty and responsibility to send all souls of the living dead to Hell, not mingle my blood with theirs! I have an image to uphold, a sacred duty to perform! I have enough trouble supporting your position in my ranks as it is! Can you imagine what would happen if I were to become a vampire? Everything my forefathers gave their lives and hearts for would fall into ruin." She grabbed him by his collar, and he yielded to her human muscles, which would be considered strong by other weaklings but could be torn to shreds easily by his much greater power. He smiled into her stony face as she spat, "Do not even _attempt_ to bring this matter before me again! Now get out of my sight!"  
>Of course, he had brought it up again. It was his one true desire, to grant her immortality to he could serve her forever…and remain at her side always. She had been angry every time, but he loved her anger. It was so deliciously human, but at her core, he could see she was destined to become a true blood sucker.<p>

Now, all responsibility had been whisked away from Integra. She was no longer looked up to as the force that protected England from the supernatural; in fact, those mongrels she had spent her entire life sheilding from unimaginable danger were doing a fine show of offering their gratitude by considering her execution. She was finally beginning to realize how far above them she really was. She was beginning to see things from his perspective.

"Bastard," she said with a dark grin. "You waited until I was at my weakest. You know me only too well."

"On the contrary," he replied, allowing a low growl to creep into his already deep voice. "You are the one mystery I know I will never understand. Even as a vampire…" He felt his fangs press against his lips as he smiled. "You would remain hidden to me. I never want to understand you, Integra. However, marching to your death is such a pathetically predictable human thing to do. I cannot allow such waste…my master." He stepped forward, extending his hand towards her.

"Give me your blood." His voice sank even lower, rasping with a glimmer of desire and drunken with anticipation. "Give me your blood, and allow me to replace it with my own. Become immortal, the creature you have always been destined to exist as. Let us rid ourselves of this weakling's hold and protect this world from those desecrates who would steal the title of vampires together. I will always serve you, I will never leave your side." He sank to his knee in front of her, bowing his head in submission. "Even if you choose to silence your heart here, I swear mine will end along beside it. I live only to be commanded by you."

Integra drew in a sharp breath. He was always honest with her…the greatest and oldest of vampires was revealing the true depth of his fealty to her. She had…tamed him? To the point that he was willing to cease his existence along with hers if she so decided to let things end this way. She had never wanted to tie him down so tightly. In her eyes, he had always been a being of unrivaled magnificence that honored her by gracing her commands with his obedience. She had imagined he was doing her a favor, not actually obeying her because he was obligated to. She was a lesser sentient…but if she became his equal, they would both be free.

_Free._

She wasn't ready to let the Hellsing line end here.

She placed her hand in his and stood.

"Get up, idiot."

He looked up, eyes glowing with the same anticipation as she unbuttoned her collar and slipped her shirt halfway off her shoulders, baring her slender, long neck and the sculpted arc of her shoulder and collar bone.

"Fulfill your thirst," she ordered him. "And free us."

Alucard stood and looked her over, taking off his glasses and letting them shatter to the floor in the pool of his blood.

"Close your eyes," he purred, and smiled when she refused to. Excellent. Suddenly, he was behind her, moving so quickly that the large, velvet red hat slipped off his head, allowing his long black hair to fall over his face. He was the picture of a truly wild and captivating predator as the fingers of his left hand curved around her neck, drawing her head back until her throat was fully exposed. He snarled, unleashing his desire as he struck, sinking his teeth through the delicate skin of her neck to reach the river of warm, sweet glory that rushed pulsating beneath it. She gasped at the sensation of blood being drawn from her body. This wasn't the first or second time a vampire had dared to puncture her skin and drain the vitality from her veins, but it was the first time she _allowed_ such a desecration.

Alucard's strong jaw grazed her neck as he drank long draughts of her blood, sending waves of exhileration, not weariness, through her body. Her eyes were half-closed, her mouth parted slightly in an unconscious, primal desire to scream for help. But no…she welcomed this. She realized, as her heart began to slow, that she had been wanting it since the day she met the fearsome vampire lord. The day he had saved her life and sworn his undying loyalty to her. She reached up, laying her hand gently against the side of his face to reassure him of her approval as this sudden intimacy broke the dam of restrained feelings she had kept locked away for so long. He tasted the sudden change in her blood, and responded by pausing briefly to slide his tongue over her bare skin and growl in a possessive way, winding his free arm around her waist and drawing her against his muscled body.

"Alucard," she whispered, feeling herself relax against such a strong, supportive wall.

"Integra," he murmured, dipping his head to lick a few spare drops that had slid farther down her chest. A shiver cascaded through her as his tongue, inhumanly long and sinuous, danced lightly across her collar bone. "Don't fret. We're halfway through."

"Don't stop," she managed.

"Drinking your blood?" She heard the ever-present dark laugh in his chocolate voice. "But you have to run out eventually, I fear."

"No. Don't stop…holding me." All pretenses of pride had long since been cast away. Only truth remained, and that truth was she never wanted to be free from his arms.  
>His hold on her tightened.<p>

"That was never even a possibility...my master."

He angled his head and drained the last bit of blood from her body. As her heart began to fail and coldness began to set in, she felt him tilting her body back gently onto the bed. She was dimly aware of him leaning over her, whispering, "Sleep, my master."  
>Darkness.<p>

She liked the darkness.

Suddenly, she was burning. Fire spreading through her veins, hitting her heart like a brand. She gasped, her eyes flying open as she clutched at her chest…but the pain was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. All that remained…was power.

She sat up, eyes glowing in reborn blood-luster.

Never had she felt so alive.

Alucard laughed, throwing back his head and basking in the glory of the moment.

"Rise, Sir Integra Hellsing," he said, extending his hand to her once again. His eyes glowed. "Rise, my master."

She stood, taking his hand.

"Idiot," she said, leaning in to bite his throat gently with her new fangs. "I'm not a knight of England anymore."

He pulled away, meeting her eyes. "Oh no," he replied with his typical toothy grin. "But you are a knight…of the night. Now, my blood isn't very satisfying, though you have just freed yourself from being my servant. There are two very arrogant weaklings guarding your door, and we need to make our escape, so their fate has been sealed." He bared his fangs. "It was sealed when they bound and beat you. It would be a shame to waste their deaths."

Drunk on the new power and life that flowed through her veins, Integra grinned ferally, and together, they dissolved into the shadows, leaving the room barren. All that remained as evidence of their presence was a shattered glass and a pool of blood.  
>The queen received a frantic telegram the next morning. Integra Hellsing was gone, on the day of her scheduled execution. The guards of her cell had been found dead, drained of all their blood, and a letter with her unmistakable eloquent flourish was found pinned to one of their lapels:<p>

_To the swine who calls himself Prime Minister, I offer only reassurance that blood like yours is too foul for me to dirty my tongue with. Have no fear; I continue to serve England, but under a different set of laws none of you could ever hope to understand. Never undestimate the Hellsing Corporation's affinity for survival. God save the Queen, and HER country, you bastards.  
>-Integra Hellsing<em>

_While panic swept through the military, three true vampires stood on the hillock overlooking the city. Seras Victoria gawked at her master and her master's master as they stood like a god and his goddess, keeping watch over the world of mortals as long as they walked the earth. It was a glorious, bloody new legacy. One day, she swore silently, I'll be that strong._

_"Alucard," Integra's voice rang through the silence, sharp and commanding as ever._

_"Your orders?"_

_"Let's go."_


	2. Guardian

**To any of you who are new, this is a re-vamp (heh. Re-VAMP. Heheh…not funny? I'll just stop…) of an IntegraxAlucard fic I originally started more than a year ago. I'm decking the original out for you guys, then finishing up in the next week before I take off to Japan. I hope you enjoy it. **

"What a pity."

Alucard's voice, flat with boredom and given depth only by the faintest strain of amusement, attracted young Seras Victoria to his side. Curious and spritely as ever, she peered over his shoulder.

"What is, Master?" Her youthful voice, glazed with the ever-present naivete she had dragged with her into the Hellsing Organization, prodded a chuckle from Alucard's lips.

"We're only wanted in _one small province. Only one. I find that to be rather insulting, if not a bit pathetic, considering what reputations we've amassed for ourselves before we even became public enemies."_

_"Don't be daft," Integra cut in, irritated. "They're letting us go. This is Her Majesty's way of thanking us and telling us she trusts us."_

_"Oh?" Alucard removed his boots from the dingy table, eying Hellsing with a new interest. "Is that so? Perhaps she's not as weak as I had anticipated; that's good news." A smirk slid across his face._

_"Indeed," Integra responded coolly. "It proves that the Prime Minister doesn't have as much of a latch around her neck as he would have hoped. It's very good news."  
>Alucard's grin widened. "Around her neck," he repeated, a soft growl in his voice as he reached out to brush the faint scars he had left behind on her own neck. She slapped his hand away.<em>

_"Shut up," she retorted. "Idiot."  
>Alucard laughed and leaned back in his chair again, propping his feet back up on the table.<em>

_"But still," Seras mused nervously. "Only one province…it's almost too good to be true. I'm going out to get some more information…it is evening, after all, and I'm not recognized as someone affiliated to you two yet. So sit tight and let me have a scout around. Be back in a bit!" She saluted Integra cheerfully, bowed slightly to Alucard, and then left the small cottage they had recently found._

_"She's no fool," Integra remarked quietly. "The situation could change completely any hour now. The Prime Minister is crafty; he'll do whatever he can to get more power, and with that power he will inevitably run us to the ground."_

_"Then we'll cross the sea," Alucard said with a shrug. "The weak-kneed Englishmen dare not intrude upon their rebellious child that beat them a few times already in the heat of war. America will be a new, safe place; it could even be our first option of relocation instead of a shabby plan B."_

_"No!" Integra responded sharply. "I belong here! My loyalty is to queen and country; I'll be damned before I abandon either in such a trying time."  
>Alucard did not speak, but his smile remained stretched across his face. Integra sighed and leaned back in her chair.<em>

_"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm just…everything is still such a jumble for me right now."_

_Her companion swung his legs off the table and leaned forward, gently taking her hand and bending on his knee before her, head bowed in submission._

_"Apology accepted." His deep, rich voice vibrated in her bones as he looked up and met her eyes, the same molten, liquid red that his were. "It's been a while," he mused. "Since you last asked my forgiveness for anything, Integra."_

_Shocked, she sat up. It really had been. How long had she been so cold and foreign to him? His eyes were silently asking her the same question…_

_"Seven years," she murmured._

_"Hm?" he queried, not released her hand. She closed her fingers softly against his palm._

_"It's been seven years since I last told you I was sorry," she said in a louder voice, but her mind was already somewhere else entirely…_

_"Vampire!"_

_Fifteen-year-old Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing woke with a shriek, sitting bolt upright in bed, her large, crystal blue eyes even wider with the aftershock of the terror only her mind had seen, sweat delicately spotting her brow and slender white fingers clutching at the luxurious thick blankets of her bed set. Gasping, she moved to get out of her bed and wash her face in the nearby basin, but stopped short with a sharp cry as a figure materialized beside her bed, red eyes glowing and searching for the source of her outcry._

_"Really? Where is it, my master? I can easily dispatch it for you; such a foolish, wretched creature that had the misfortune to dare and approach you in such a vulnerable state." His voice sank to a snarl as he drew his gun, gleaming in the dim candle light and catching the young girl's eye. Alucard towered over the young Hellsing child, ready to protect her and hungry for the blood of his prey. Remembering that he was no threat to her, Integra sank back against her pillows._

_"Nowhere," she said in a calmer voice. "It was…I had…" Color rose to her cheeks, but she quickly shook her head and lifted her chin defiantly. "You must have misheard! I didn't call for you, cur! Now get out of my quarters. Immediately!"_

_"Hmm." His lips parted in an inhuman grin, revealing glistening white teeth and fangs as he sank down on one knee to her eye-level. "I see," he observed. "You had a nightmare, didn't you, master?"_

_Mortified, Integra looked down at her clenched hands. "Yes," she muttered. "What of it?"_

_"I wouldn't be ashamed," Alucard remarked. "It's only natural for your mind to torment you with recurring visions of the crazed bloodsuckers, especially considering you had your first run-in with one today."_

_Integra shut her eyes tightly, trying to forget her near-death experience that had occurred earlier that evening. Those mad, thirsty red eyes…the terrifying strength of the monster's grip against her humanly fragile throat…it surely was a good thing she had such a strong guardian._

_Alucard chucked her lightly under the chin. His movements were awkward and robotic, as though he were afraid to touch her._

_"You needn't worry," he said, the note of care in his voice rusty from lack of use. "Even the fastest blood-crazed creature could not steal your life away. Even though I am not visible to your eyes, I have sworn to protect you and never leave your side, Master Integra. You can sleep easily; I may be the stuff of nightmares, but I keep myself well-hidden for a reason." His eyes narrowed as his grin widened. "I'm always a second's call away. Now go back to sleep; you humans actually need it, especially at such a fragile age of development."_

_With that, he stood and turned to go, but she moved quicker. Fragile, pale fingers grasped the passing velvety-red coat with an iron will, halting the looming vampire in his tracks._

_"Please…"_

_Integra's voice was soft, but not from the mask of pride. She simply had no idea how to further express her feelings._

_"Hm?" Curious, Alucard turned. The child was looking up at him, eyes shining with something new and unknown to him: trust._

_"Please stay with me. I feel…safer when I can actually see that you're around."  
>Touching, even to a bloodsucker like himself. He walked back over to her bedside.<em>

_"As you comma…"_

_She drew back. "Go," she said in a firmer voice._

_"What?" This human made no sense…but children were allegedly not even sure of their own minds or will. Perfect._

_Integra, however, looked down again, her moment of strength vanishing yet again into the night. "I don't…I don't want you to stay because I told you to. I want you to stay because you want to." She lifted her chin again with the same endearing obstinacy he had spotted in her early on. "If you do not wish to stay, then I command you to go."_

_A low chuckle rumbled through his chest._

_"Oh, is that what bothers you?"_

_He sank down at her bedside, reaching out and cautiously running his fingers through her hair until her eyes fluttered reluctantly shut and her breathing deepened into the calming rhythm of sleep. His presence…was soothing to her. She certainly was an odd one, his new master._

_Odd in a strangely wonderful way…_

_"Alucard?" she queried, voice muffled and soft with sleep. "I'm...sorry."_

_"There's no need, my master," Alucard replied, not pausing in his motions. "I will admit though...this is the first time I've ever had to babysit."  
>The girl was too far gone to respond to his gentle jibe; in fact, she had finally given in to slumber.<em>

_"And you needn't worry," Alucard continued in a lower voice as he looked at that young, peaceful face. "If that's the case, I'm not going anywhere."_

_"I remember that," Alucard in the present stated. "You were the first human to ever appreciate my presence."_

_"I still do," Integra protested, and Alucard stood, walking around behind her chair._

_"That may be true," he replied. "But you aren't a human anymore, Integra." He leaned in, gently sinking his fangs into the side of her neck, and she closed her eyes and rested her head against the chair. He didn't drink her blood; he simply wiped the two sweet droplets away and arranged her long, flowing hair over the point of his bite, running his fingers through it just like he had almost a decade ago._

_"That doesn't mean," he continued. "That my promise has changed. I still intend to remain by your side. Forever."_


	3. Bloody Nightmare

**Continuing on my edit of this series. Some of these chapters will be about the same; I think the most noticeable differences will be to the sexy scenes (spoilers c; ) later on. But I digress. Enjoy!**

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Long, gloved fingers danced across the tabletop.

_Taptaptaptaptap._

Faster. With less precision. It was the beat of an impatient lover, left out in the cold for just a little longer than she would have liked.

_Slam!_

Integra Hellsing brought her fist crashing down on the solid oak table, grinding her fangs in a sudden but not uncharacteristic moment of explosive wrath.

"Alucard!" she shouted, and then threw her weight into the back of the chair, drawing all her rage back behind her eyes until she was a shadowy lioness glowering in the shadows. Her formerly ice-blue eyes glowed an exotic crimson red, intensifying the aura of pure moodiness that now hung around her like a shroud of smoke.

Smoke…

"Master?"

The deep purring voice barely preceded its owner as the tall, red-clad vampire slid through the nearest wall. Integra allowed herself a small smile. Such punctuality! Perhaps she should abstain from shouting more often; it prompted speed and concern when she actually allowed herself to raise her voice again.

_Just like old times._

Integra mentally slapped herself as Alucard bent on one knee before her, looking up at her with genuine curiosity and a touching hint of concern.

_But things have changed now._

"Idiot," she snapped. "Stand up. I am no longer your master!"

A manic grin nearly split his face in two below the obnoxious excuse for glasses he always wore, and the vampire stood.

"That was never truly agreed upon. I merely arranged it so that I would never be yours. Please, tell me your bidding…my master." His grin widened impossibly. He was playing games with her head, and it was _not_ helping her mood. Gritting her teeth so forcibly her jaw ached, Integra glared up at her companion.

"Smoke."

His eyes narrowed.

"Honestly?" She sensed the disdain in his voice and grinned. Finally. Some disrespect. Of course, part of her shrieked internally, flinging obscenities at the arrogant and disobedient cur for even daring to pull an attitude with her…but no. Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing wanted to begin a new story with the rushing of her new, vampiric blood. What was…this had to be erased.

"Yes," she replied as sweetly as she could, and he stepped back in surprise. "You see, I haven't had one since I was locked up in that ridiculous little cell. I suppose human cravings are out of the question…consider it a yearning for reminiscing. Please," she continued, standing up and forcing her face to relax into a slightly less cool and hostile expression. "I'll do anything in return if you just get me a pack of decent cigars."

Obviously thrown by her sudden change in mood, but not to be deterred in his usual dark, malicious reputation, Alucard grinned as he would before dispatching his prey.

"Anything?" His voice took on a deeper, huskier tone, belying…desire?  
>Her skin prickled.<p>

"Yes," she replied, smoothing her emotions over with irritation. Alucard took a giant stride, appearing inches from her face in a breath of a second.

"Absolutely…_anything?_" he demanded again, and this time there was an unmistakable growl in his deep voice.

His scent wafted across her inhumanly keen nose, causing her mind to reel with sudden, beast-like instincts. Her fangs pressed painfully against her teeth as she forced herself to remain proper while still in such close proximity to his face and neck.

"Idiot. Are you deaf?"

_Focus on those damned goggles. There's nothing enticing about __**them**__ at all. Anyone who wears such obscenely freakish headwear probably doesn't taste that good at all._

That hadn't helped.

_Why am I even thinking about his blood…? _

She hated feeling helpless, especially in regards to something that lay within her.

"Not at all," Alucard said after a moment of tense silence. He drew back a few paces, and reached for a pack hanging by the door. "But if you absolutely mean that…" His devilish grin lit up his face yet again, causing her to pause in foreboding.

She was right to feel that way.

Alucard drew something out of the pack.

Something long…

And _colorful…_

And…

_**Lacey.**_

_Disgusting._

Integra Hellsing was unable to retain a sound of disgust as she took a swift two-pace back from the offending item.

"A _dress_?"

She could just as easily have been referring to the Devil's Ass.

"Well stated," Alucard mocked her. "I'm glad you at least know what one of these looks like. Here's the catch…_Master_…to my buying you those disgusting sticks of worthless smoke and stench. You have to wear this dress to mask the odorous presence with…beauty." Something crept into his voice as he said the last word, and his eyes wandered from where they had been intensely staring just seconds before.

"…"

Integra Hellsing took an agonizing moment to weigh the burning desire for a good smoke against the humiliatingly feminine idea of wearing an evening gown.

The cigar always seemed to win for her.

_I suppose even the strongest woman has her weakness,_ Integra thought as she marched across the room, muttering curses at her former servant and snatching the dress from his hands.

"Those cigars had better be godly, Alucard," she snarled, and he grinned.

"Excellent," he purred. "I'll make sure of that. Oh, and I'll be taking the Police Girl with me to teach her some lessons. You can…hold the fort while we're gone, can you not, my master?"

Integra froze, a tiny ball of sick clawing away at her deepest insides.

"Oh?"

Seras.

"That shouldn't be a problem. Idiot! I've always been capable of tending to myself. Now get out of my sight, you manipulative beast."

He smiled in a way that could almost be described as fond, dipped his head, and left.

Unsettled, Integra walked to the window and watched him summon the young vampire girl to his side. Eager as a slobbering pup, she scampered to him, eyes wide and entranced as she gawked up at him. Together, side by side, they disappeared.

Integra did not leave the window.

Her fingers dug into the cool, slick fabric of the gown.

_Why does the child bother me all of a sudden?_

Shaking herself, she turned and strode into the adjacent room. It was a humble bedroom, nothing like the luxurious quarters she had known as a child or the regal, proper ones she had grown accustomed to as a knight of England. The bed was nondescript, the walls were plain, and a cheap mirror was propped up against the opposite wall.

Brooding over her new, unwelcomed feelings and whims, Integra Hellsing abstractly unbuttoned her suit and stripped down to her undergarments. For a moment, she was ridiculously distracted by her own figure in the mirror. Tall, slim, angular…like a hardened military woman ought to be. Her gaze paused at her breasts, and much to her horror, her mind immediately conjured up an image of Seras' bosomy figure. How much more like a woman that youthful girl appeared in comparison…

Integra selected on of the foulest words she had ever learned and spat it through the myriad of her distasteful thoughts.

_You pathetic fool,_ she scolded herself furiously. _Abandon this madness!_

Roughly, she pulled the dress up her body, ignoring the soothing feel of silk sliding against her skin. She paused once again, allowed the unadjusted straps to slide halfway down her bare shoulders as she looked at herself.

Granted, although the dress was abysmal, it was stunning.

It was the palest of pinks, and while not very elaborate, its simplicity made it all the more beautiful and effeminate.

Gauzy straps settled softly against her shoulders before gliding gracefully into a low neckline. The fabric of the upper torso was more silky than the sleeves, and it outlined her willowy figure in a shy, enticing fashion. It then gathered around her trim waist and cascaded around her legs in elegant, but not too pronounced, ruffles that were as light as feathers. The purity of the near-white fabric accented her tan skin and white hair.

She no longer looked intimidating in any way.

But…

Her mind once again threw an image of the golden-haired, pretty-faced draculina.

_Am I…beautiful?_

The gauzy curtains fluttered nonchalantly in a soft breeze that suddenly flew through the room. But unlike the rest of the lazy summer evening, this particular breeze was cool…no, frigid. When it touched her skin, any warmth that remained in her new body was snatched away, leaving a bitter chill. Also, there was something else on the wind…a scent sweeter than the most desireable blood. It wafted through her body, clogging her throat and fogging her mind. Too late did it occur to her that she was being drugged.

"D-damned…idiot…" she whispered to herself before falling to her knees, ready to lose consciousness.

Her legs collided jarringly with a relentless floor of pure ice. Struck by the sudden chill of her surroundings, she gasped, taking in a lungfull of stinging, icy air. The temperature didn't clear her head, however; her vision remained strained and blurred, the edges shifting at a dizzying and sickening rate.

_Drugged…and abducted? How the hell did I get here so fast? Did I lose consciousness? How long…_

"Beautiful? Don't be a fool."

The voice emanating from her right was as frozen and harsh as the room was, but it was layered several times over with a slick, silken tone of inhuman malice that set Integra's marrow with the chill of death. For a moment, she felt like a small child, afraid to look under her bed to investigate a strange noise, lest there truly be a monster waiting for her…but at the same time frozen in morbid fascination at what the truth held in wait for her.

_Idiot! Just turn and look!_

As coolly as her dimmed senses would allow, Integra Hellsing pushed herself to her feet and turned to face her opponent. She nearly gasped at the sight before her.

The woman was obviously a draculina. Integra could sense this…and no human would possess such a hypnotic presence. But this draculina's eyes were neither red nor gold; they were black. Merciless, liquid vats set in alluringly lashed eyes and flecked with burning gold that bored right through her, pinpointing every weakness she had ever feared revealing to the manipulative world. Her skin was the palest of ivory, and it contrasted strikingly with her scarlet mahogany hair that cascaded down her back in wild, beautiful waves. Her presence was made all the more overpowering with the help of her boots, which were adorned with four-inch heels. Her figure was sinuous and alluring; her bosom had to be at least as ample as the police girl's, if not more so. But there was nothing childish or innocent about this dark queen. She seethed deadly waves of power, and the thick, head-reeling scent of perfume that Integra had smelled before losing consciousness hung around her perpetually.

Integra Hellsing had never felt so exposed and debilitated. Those unblinking eyes were tearing through her skin and bones, through her heart and her mind, and tearing whatever secrets lay there from the bloody ruins of whatever was left.

She staggered and struggled for a breath of pure air, panic starting to override even her most iron sense of pride and wit.

_Damned fool! Get a hold of yourself! You are British, a woman under service of Her Majesty the Queen, and you have been hunting vile demons like this since you were a child! You have faced far worse than this. Stand up!_

A sneer of triumph was just beginning to curl the lip of the draculina when Integra stood to her full height, adjusting her glasses (which were no longer necessary with her blood-sucker eyes, but she wore nonetheless), and glared at her abductor.

"Heathen beast," she remarked coldly. "I am Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, the last of the distinguished line of vampire hunters. I send demons like you back to Hell for even daring to enter my presence. I demand to know why you have done this. Give your life purpose before I end it in the most hideous and painful way known to you."

The draculina did not draw back; she laughed.

"Big words for such a small, pathetic woman," she purred in a tone not unlike Alucard's. The similarity made Integra shudder; this was no dirty-blooded, skulking beast in human form. Such a creature did not even attempt to pass as a human. In her eyes, humans were probably pale copies of her own dark glory, and other vampires…Integra remembered with ease Alucard's many rants against "pathetic excuses for vampires". There was not a doubt in her mind that this demonness of the night was made of the same material her former servant existed in.

Suddenly, the monster was inches away from her.

"I watched you, weakling," she stated, carressing Integra's brow with perfectly manicured nails painted the dark crimson of dried blood. She twitched her wrist slightly, and suddenly Integra's blood mingled brightly with the deathly pallete. Integra flinched but found herself unable to move as a trickle of warmth slid down the side of her temple.

The draculina's lips parted in a cruel smile, revealing her pure white fangs.

"I watched you and I heard your infantile thoughts," she continued, moving away to circle her abductee like a vulture around a fresh carcass. "Such shallow, useless implications of jealousy and attempted self-promotion to measure up to your fleeting, purposeless existence. That man you begin to admit feelings for…the one who for so long shouldered the unsuited burden of calling you Master…is a god bathed in the blood-soaked glory of the true vampire's entity. He deserves more than any frail soul on this hellish rock has to offer…save perhaps myself…but at least the spirited young draculina is more of a match for him than you. Look at you!" She struck, tearing the silver cross from Integra's lapel with a single lightning move. "You cling to your barren humanity," she hissed, grinding it into sparkling dust with her fingers. "The girl, at least, has consumed and adopted the true nature of a draculina. All you can do is sit around and bark orders like an old watchdog. Even your blood would offer him little satisfaction in the state you're in now…" Her palm slammed against Integra's forehead, forcing her to her knees as she angled her head in at her neck and savagely bit into her jugular.

Unable to contain herself, Integra cried out as her blood spattered the air and the floor around, driven from her body in with the increased force of her accelerated pulse. The black-eyed vampire threw her against the ice floor, spitting her blood out in disgust.

"Even this attempt at dulling your pathetic plainness has come to nothing," she continued, fingering the lace of the now-soiled pink gown as Integra gasped and choked her life out on the ice. "It's almost a waste to let such a pretty thing adorn your body…better it be destroyed." Her eyes flashed, and Integra felt her body slowly being lifted up by unseen hands until she hovered a few feet above the ground. Her arms were spread as if she was hanging on some invisible cross, vulnerable and paralyzed with pain and some other witchery.

"No…please…"

She had never once begged for her life before.

But this pain…this despair…it had driven all pretenses of pride from her soul.

"Curse your God and die," snarled the draculina, and darted forward. There was a whirlwind of taloned nails, ivory fangs, and inhuman strength as every strip of clothing and quite a bit of flesh was torn from Integra's prostrate form. She shrieked, cried, and prayed…but there was no end to it. Finally, she simply hung her head and accepted the agony and inevitable end that was waiting for her.

Finally, the whirlwind ceased, and the mahogany-haired draculina stood over Integra Hellsing's broken, naked body. A pool of blood was slowly spreading around her, and her scarlet eyes were losing their vibrance.

"A…lu…card…" she managed in a hoarse whisper. Blackish blood mixed with saliva poured from her mouth at even this bare movement of her lips, joining a river of bloody tears that streamed from her eyes. Her tormenter grinned, baring every glistening fang in her mouth, and bent over her to whisper in her ear.

"Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing…you are a weakling. Your very existence is a disgrace to our kind. You know what you should do? You should end it. Go ahead and take your own life, cursing God and all that is sacred to you with your last breath. _They_ won't even notice."

Lifting her dying eyes to where the draculina motioned, Integra saw Alucard and Seras Victoria bound together in a tangle of arms and lips. Grinning, her once-faithful servant extracted himself only to snake in and sink his fangs into the blond-haired draculina's pure throat. Her response was a ragged breath of ecstasy mixed with a shuddering moan as she arched her back to press her body more purposefully against his. Closing her eyes, the young girl bared her fangs and snarled as her fingers dug into his arm with enough force to draw blood. She lifted her crimson stained digits to her mouth, licking his blood, still hot with passion, and tearing away from him to kiss him again. As Integra watched, she was certain that the girl had bitten his lip, for blood trickled down between their two moving mouths. Sickened, she closed her eyes to shut out such an animalistic display of passion, but the images remained burned behind her eyelids.

_Curse all that is sacred to you with your last breath and die. You aren't wanted or needed here, Integra Hellsing. Pathetic human. Weakling vampire._

All of a sudden, she was alone. Alone in pitch blackness, but she could feel a holy dagger in her hand.

_You aren't wanted or needed here. You existence has no purpose, so why not end it yourself?_

Blindly, she lifted the point to her bosom.

_They won't even miss you when you disappear. Do the world of darkness a favor and destroy yourself._

A crimson tear slid down her cheek in the darkness.

Alucard…

Agonized, she tried to fight past the thematic display of affection she had seen him display with Seras to the memories of the guardian, servant, and friend she had known her whole life.

_Alucard. _

Her hand trembled as she drew it back, ready to end her existence with a single blow.

_Integra._

She could imagine his voice, deep and soothing, as he stroked her hair and kept her company through a nightmare-infested sleep. She could see his bemused smile, that tantalizing smirk that barely masked hidden secrets and feelings he never let the world see. She could feel his presence in her mind, through the bond they had once so smoothly shared as partners in a bloody game of hunting every day.

_Integra?_

He would never inquire for her orders again. Never wonder what new trouble she was getting herself into…

I'm sorry… Sorry for being such a despicable burden. Sorry for existing. Sorry…sorry…

_**INTEGRA! **_

A roar, and suddenly everything around her shattered into blinding light.

The holy blade buried itself in the wall after Alucard had struck it from Integra's grasp.

"What are you doing?" he demanded in a terrifying voice. Integra looked up, casting her eyes just once around the room before fixing them on him. Trembling, she reached up and caught herself around the throat, feeling for wounds that had never existed in the first place.

"Stop!" Alucard growled, thinking she was trying to do more harm to herself. He caught her hands firmly, burying them in his own, which were, for once, bereft of the gloves he always wore. Seras stood in the doorway, gawking at the sight of her master cradling his master. Never had she seen Integra in such a state, not even when that draculina had attempted to turn her into a ghoul. No…such a comparison was inappropriate. That had been Master Hellsing's strongest moment. But this…

"Why would you even consider doing such a thing?" Alucard demanded in a gentler voice…a voice he had not used in years past, since the end of the nightmare tuck-in stage of her life. Gently, as he had of old, he ran his fingers through her long, silken hair. "What were you thinking?" His voice was hoarse with worry and care, and it had never sounded more beautiful to her. She choked out a sob and flung her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest and hiding from the horrors she had just imagined. She felt his arms enclose around her, shielding her from the world.

"Don't worry," she felt his chest vibrate as he spoke. "I'm here. I am here and I will never leave your side again."

As her trembling began to cease, she felt him chuckle as he added, "Now, who was right here? The cigars were a bad idea…but I was doubly right. You look beautiful in that dress."

While this scene unfolded, far away on the bottom of the world, a damned queen awoke in her icy tomb that had once been a kingdom of ancient, soulless night walkers.  
>Opening liquid-onyx and gold flecked eyes, she sat up slowly, accepting this battle's loss as an opportunity for a truly delectable victory later on.<p> 


	4. Songbirds at Dusk

**This chapter is more or less the same; OC introduction. I may have forgotten to say this before, but this new character is actually my friend's; I put her in this story as requested. Have at it.~**

The rustic mattress creaked and groaned in protest as the weight of two bodies shifted on it in a rhythm of near-perfect synchronization. Although the bird singing innocently outside the room declared it to be a sunny morning just hitting its golden prime, the shutters were tightly closed, with heavy curtains drawn over them so that a scented candle was necessary to provide light. The smoke and smell it emitted clogged the air with an intoxicating new atmosphere, and its flame cast an erotic glow on the soft folds of a pale pink dress that hung carelessly abandoned on the bedpost.

Gripping the edges of the mattress with sweaty palms, Integra drew in a sharp, ragged lungful of the smoky air.

"A-Alucard!" she gasped as a large, shadowy figured pinned her wrists against the bed with a throaty, rumbling chuckle that resonated through the small bedroom.

"Hush, Integra," the vampire crooned, leaning in until his face was inches from hers. "I'm doing this for you." His fingers brushed coolly along the burning skin of her lips, coaxing them apart. "Now, stop talking and open your mouth. Say _ ahhh..._"

She fell back against the downy pillow as he loomed over her, and her protests were forcibly cut off by the thick, stiffened expanse of foreign matter. Choking slightly, she could only manage a feeble whimper as he pressed in on her...

Integra Hellsing mustered all of her strength and spat, shooting the tongue depressor from her mouth like a guided missile and sitting up, throwing her former servant off the bed with an inhuman shove.

"ENOUGH!" she roared in a manner not unlike her old one. "I do _not_ enjoy being treated like a child! How _dare_ you invade my personal space in such…such…" She paused, not realizing how breathless and uncomfortable his proximity had made her until just now. Alucard fiddled with a thermometer in amusement, ignoring her. Furious, she picked a pillow off the bed and threw it with as much force as she could muster.

"I already told you, I'm fine! Besides, I'm not even a human being anymore; these old maid techniques are a waste of time. You know my sense of nostalgia is practically nonexistent, so stop treating me like you did when I was sick as a child. I'm not even sick _now_, damn it!"

"Practically?" Alucard's rich, chocolaty voice dropped even lower in his amusement. For some reason, it sent shivers down her spine. "A rabid wolf is more nostalgic than you in a _good_ mood, my master. Everything I have done to tend you in this time of physical lackluster has been solely for the purpose of my own amusement."

A vein bulged in Integra's pale temple as she stared hellfire and daggers at her former servant.

_Remain calm,_ she thought, twisting the confining, frilly sheets in her clenched fists. _There is certainly no need for shouting. You can avoid it if you want to…_

"Do you mean to tell me," she said in a forcibly calm demeanor. "That you stripped me down to near-nothing, wrapped me in layers of flannel like a child being put to bed at six, piled _six _blankets onto my bed, and stuck three or four different devices of medical torture in my mouth because you found it _entertaining?_"

Alucard's face split into the manic grin he always flaunted so effortlessly. "You _have_ insisted that I drop my role as your servant and assume that of an equal. Beings on equal levels tend to use each other at the other's expense…sometimes for the most frivolous of reasons. I have merely been following your last order to me, Integra, and suffice to say…" His crimson eyes glowed like molten fire. "I've enjoyed every minute of my new freedom."

_"DAMN YOU!"_

Integra lost her inner battle of self-restraint, tore the layers of blankets from her body, and sprang from the bed. She landed, standing tall and proud in her explosive fury, and brought her hand crashing down on the bed stand, wiping out the bowl of hot water and various accessories that had collected there.

"How _dare_ you take advantage of my position?" she shouted. "Even if I am no longer your master, I am _still_ Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing! I thought I would have earned your respect beyond that of a dog for its master years ago! Animalistic _bastard!_"

"My, my," Alucard mused as his smile widened impossibly. "Such fiery malice. I see you're feeling much more yourself now…but why the display of blatant anger? Surely having a thermometer stuck in your mouth isn't _that_ damaging to your pride."  
>For some reason, disappointment rose to this response, leading to an even more animated rush of desire to grind this imbecile's face into the nearest wall.<p>

"_Why?_" Integra seethed. "You saw me _naked_…and you _enjoyed_ it!"

With that, she launched herself at Alucard, who laughed like a madman in the glory a pre-battle moment and readied himself for her onslaught. However, they both underestimated how much of a force to be reckoned with she truly was with her new strength, and had just crashed to the floor when Seras Victoria opened the bedroom door.

"Master!" she announced cheerfully. "I brought the fresh tow—" Her words trailed off as she gawked at the newly created carnage left in Integra's wake. Her wide, blue eyes traveled from the twisted bed covers to the spattered mess around the bed stand, and finally to the floor, where her master and his former master were tangled up in what could easily be misinterpreted as a compromising position.

It didn't help that Integra was wearing nothing but a short flannel nightgown.  
>A moment of strained silence ensued as both parties deliberated silently on how to mend the stifling awkwardness of the situation.<p>

"Police Girl," Alucard finally said. "You can put those away. Integra is most certainly feeling herself again. She passed my test." He smirked as Integra pulled away as quickly as she possibly could.

"Test?" she queried blankly, standing and making a vain attempt to smooth her long, pale blond hair and pull the hem of the nightgown down to a more modest length.

"Yes." Alucard stood as well, towering over both women with another throaty chuckle. "You could say that I planned everything out the minute we caught you trying to end your life. I never figured yours was a /iphysical/i ailment…vampires never fall ill. I was more concerned about your mental state." He paused, and carefully picked his words for the next sentence. "The conversion process can occasionally have…detrimental effects on the mind. With everything so new and strange, a more nervous and flighty being could translate the rush of new feelings to some twisted form of despair and soullessness. Suicide is not completely uncommon among the newer of us. I made sure the Police Girl was distracted with her work under me. I distracted you by eliciting some of that delightful temper you always used to fuel yourself with. I apologize if I took things…a little too far perhaps." His eyes narrowed, and he bowed with a toothy smile.

Not exactly sure how she ought to address this, Integra sat on the bed with an exasperated sigh. She hadn't imagined her abduction, nor was that terrifying demonness some conjured apparition of a shattered mind. What had happened to her was real, she was more sure of that than anything. Perhaps it wasn't real in a conventional sense…but she knew she was mentally sound, and more importantly, that some new threat had awoken and was reaching out with venomous talons. There was a new enemy to face, somewhere out there. One that rivaled even Alucard's level of horrific power. Surely, if she could somehow convince him…

_He would be thrilled. No, beyond thrilled…he would be ecstatic,_ Integra mused wearily. Her companion's blatant disregard for danger often infuriated her, but currently she had no fury left to spend.

Seras crossed to the window and pulled the drapes back before opening the window to allow the cool evening breeze into the stuffy, hot room.

"Funny," she commented. "It's almost dark…but the birds are singing like it's the middle of the morning out there. I don't understand what's got them in such a confusion."

"Birds?" Alucard couldn't have sounded more disinterested. "That's wonderful. Why don't you go and talk to them or something? Your voice is squeaky enough, certainly."

"You're so mean!" Seras protested, but turned to leave. "At any rate, I think I _will_ go and see what's got them so chatty," she continued. "Master Integra, your everyday clothes have been washed. They're waiting for you on the banister." With that, the pixie-headed draculina exited the room.

There was silence again, but this time a more comfortable one, as Integra settled back on the bed. How odd that she had attacked him…the Integra Hellsing of a few months ago would never have resorted to physical violence against her oldest servant. As a vampire, was her anger more difficult to control? In hindsight, the whole fiasco was incredibly shameful; she ought to have known better.

"Alucard," she said finally, looking past her drawn up knees to where he stood, gazing at the settling twilight. Startled out of his brooding, the vampire turned and bowed.

"What is it, my master?"

She frowned, but sat up, too distracted to correct him.

"About earlier…"

"Don't waste your breath." He cut her off swiftly; as usual, Alucard was the only being who would dare to interrupt her. "I was out of line," he said, bowing his head even further. "I should be the one apologizing. I'll admit I had some selfish motivation to babying you like that."

"Oh!" Caught off guard, Integra paused. Alucard wasn't one to apologize…ever. "It's fine," she brushed it off, not appreciating the alien feel it had. "I was actually referring to when you found me…"

"On the verge of stabbing yourself with a holy blade?" he finished, and she nodded while he matched her gaze, searching for something in the depths of her eyes.

"I'm not mad," she stated simply. "I really was kidnapped and tortured."

"I'm sure," he murmured, still looking at her.

"This is _important_," she persisted. "We have a new enemy."

"Let them come," Alucard growled with relish.

"A _powerful_ one."

"From the pathetically biased standards of a mortal."

"_Alucard._"

"_Integra._"

She was diverted by the sudden intensity with which he was looking at her. Had she been trying to tell him something? Something important…

"A dog could never speak truly from its heart," he said quietly. "Because any mongrel will flatter its master. But now that I am no longer your servant, I can say what has always been true: you are flawlessly beautiful, Integra."

Any possible response was frozen with heart-stuttering static on the tip of her tongue as he reached out to brush a few strands of her long, flowing her from her face. In the deepening night, the birds sang more persistently than ever, and it was so unseemly at such an hour that their voices seemed mysterious and lovely.

_What is this?_

She was frozen, and for a blinding second of fear, she remembered how the hypnotic black eyes of her assailant had caught her right before her bloody brutality had been doled out…but this was so different. His fingers, bared for once of their gloves, lingered on her face for a moment, and she felt that if he were to draw away, she would catch his hand and refuse to let him…

Running footsteps broke through the moment as Seras came running into the room, breathless.

Integra and Alucard both stood quickly, so as not to be caught in an even more compromising—and more legitimate—position.

"Master!" Seras exclaimed. "Forgive me," she added, flustered, and bowed. "But…someone's here. Someone…different."

Together, they followed her out of the house. Integra managed to grab the dress and pull it on as she walked, and the three of them stepped into the glow of a full moon-lit night.

There, in the pale mimicry of day, stood what could be nothing other than a draculina. In her stately majesty and unearthly beauty, she reminded Integra of the unknown menace that had so brutally haunted her waking dreams…but there, the similarities ended.

This creature was more angelic than monstrous; the birds flew around her and sang songs of welcome they had generally reserved for the morning, explaining the noise Seras had heard earlier. More proof was given as the woman looked up at them from heavily lashed, violet eyes and spoke in a voice as calming and smooth as silk:

"Good evening. I am Yumi."


	5. The Nightingale's Return

**As stated in the previous chapter, Yumi isn't mine. Let's give a shout-out to the wonderful Michiru Kino. She also supplied the avaricious Ame, partially. **

"Good evening. I am Yumi."

A nightingale warbled softly as it fluttered around the strange draculina's head twice, settled on her right shoulder, and fixed the three companions with a beady eye. To Integra, the fact that such a wild, shy woodland creature had just landed on this intruder was not nearly as fixating as the woman herself. Indeed, had she been thinking a bit more clearly, Integra would have severely questioned her original association between this creature and the one that had mentally ravaged her only a day before.

Physically, the two could not be more opposite. This vampire was plain where the other was dazzlingly striking. In place of royal mahogany locks, her head was adorned by shoulder-length, slightly wavy brown hair. Where ivory, glowing skin would have proclaimed the savage caste of a blood-sucker, a more muted and modest skin-tone existed; it was a little too pale to be common, but not white enough to be completely obvious. Finally, instead of the towering, goddess-like figure Integra's assailant had flaunted so sensuously, this newcomer seemed to prefer the beauty of simplicity. Her figure was surely as stunning as her counterpart's, but the appeal lay in its purity. She was also quite tall, but diminished her height with a plain, white gown. The only thing that really stood out about her were her eyes; they were a ravishing shade of violet, and deeper than the ocean as they surveyed her unintended welcoming committee.

But still…

Integra shook her head and blinked; she simply couldn't shake the feeling that this new female vampire was related in some way to the one of her nightmare. She knew it from her gut, and Father had always told her to trust her instinct.

"A Hellsing's instinct, Integra," the stately knight would often say gravely. "Is what separates him or her from the _A La Cartes_ on a bloodsucker's menu. Never lose faith in your instinct, Integra; you'll live longer if you keep it closer than your heart."

Forcing her thoughts out of the happier courtyards from her childhood, Integra pushed her glasses up the bridge of her sharp nose and surveyed the intruder from a more logical and critical vantage point. Her looks were unimportant; what mattered was her stance. It was not a threatening one. She stood demurely, hands folded and eyes level with their own. Her dress was pretty enough, simple though it was; the simplicity offered more gratifying characteristics than those of beauty in that it was an impossible garment to hide anything dangerous in.

_I believe she has come to parler with us,_ Integra realized with some surprise. The timing of this visit was far too perfect; her guard wasn't going to be lowered for a millisecond. The tension in the air was beginning to choke her, and it was agitating Alucard. From the corner of her eye, she saw him shift from one foot to the other, eager for something exciting to happen, and, knowing him, hopeful that a chance would be offered to him to _make_ that exciting thing happen. Action had to be taken. _Now._

_Yes. Action from someone who isn't a bloody fool run only by his childish desire to play,_ Integra thought sardonically as she stepped forward.

"Generally," she addressed the draculina. "We allow a vampire five seconds to make a first impression. Five seconds are precious; a lot more can be done in them than one would think. In five seconds, for example, a decent bloodsucker could kill a man. That's what we call a _bad_ first impression. Preferably, in five seconds, any pitiful, damned soul of the living dead could pray to whatever god it holds dear and spare an eternity in Hell…that is, of course, assuming it has the mind and will left to it to make such an effort. That's what I would consider a fair first impression. In your case, because we aren't on home turf and you obviously have no idea who you've decided to intrude upon, I'm going to be generous and give you ten seconds. That's enough time for any decent Englishwoman with the proper upbringing to introduce herself and state her business. I think that makes the cut of a _good_ first impression. It might even save your life, so speak quickly. I'm not a woman of patience."

"Not a woman of patience," Alucard chuckled in an undertone. "Yet you managed to wear our focus thin with your rust-crusted, traditional pride-mongering. Really, Integra, you talk too much. It's easier to kill first and hold formalities later. May I…?"

"Shut up," Integra retorted, another age-old response. "I can monologue if I want to. God knows you do it enough, during your bloody killing sprees." Of course, Alucard had no potent protest to that piercingly accurate accusation; he withdrew, and Integra turned her attention on their "guest", who was wearing the type of fond, whimsical smile one would expect to find on a reminiscent grandmother figure. That much being said, it looked rather foreign on her, adding to her shroud of ethereal mystery.

_She's old,_ Integra concluded in shock. _No…ancient. She might even be older than Alucard is._ This time, it was more than instinct that drove her to the conclusion. Her newly-born vampiric senses could discern the scent of undying age in the draculina's rich, pure blood. So deep was the stretch of her age, it was impossible to discern even the faintest hint of a human element in her. Had she ever been human at all?

"Please."

When the draculina spoke, the birds sang again, and her voice harmonized sweetly with theirs in its musical tenor. As beautiful as it sounded, Integra immediately recognized it as the trait of a predator. Any prey—in this case, human—would be hypnotized by that voice.

"Please," she said again. "Offer me no special treatment, Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing. I have already given you my name. I am here as an ally. Need I say more? Or has my impression been made?"

Shocked by the nonchalant knowledge of her name, Integra almost stammered, but managed to control herself.

"That's…impressive. Yes, I think it's fair to say you've made a good impression, Yumi." Without averting her eyes, she reached over and laid a hand on Alucard's arm as it lay muffled in his coat. To her surprise, he offered no reluctance as he withdrew his hand from his beloved firearm. Instead, he was staring at Yumi with a new, uncharacteristic air of awe. She noticed as well, and smiled gently, as one would at a child. It was a smile Integra remembered giving Seras, on a good day, when the draculina had first began her new life as a vampire. For some reason, seeing such a gaze bequeathed upon her age-old, bloodthirsty servant unnerved her.

"What is it, boy?" Yumi queried, further strengthening Integra's theory of her age. From Alucard's right side, she heard Seras gasp at the title.

"Do you find my appearance that surprising?" the ancient continued, and Alucard shifted his gaze…uncomfortably? Integra felt her throat tighten; ridiculous as it was, his lack of confidence made her feel like a vulnerable child, and she despised it.

"I find the fact that even one of you is alive to be surprising," the vampire lord responded at length.

"But I am not the only one," Yumi countered, a hint of mild admonition in her voice. "Nor even the first—ah, but you did not listen to Integra, did you?"

Integra's gaze jerked up as she caught her breath. Alucard, however, didn't move a muscle. His head remained bowed, his eyes deliberately focused on the pebbles beneath his boots.

_It's true! She knows about my attacker; somehow, they are associated!_

This realization stirred Integra into action; she was determined to get answers from this draculina. Ancient or not, the new enemy needed a face. Alucard was being obnoxiously useless in the worst of times, but no matter. She would take this into her own hands, damn him!

But before she could even step forward, Yumi spoke again, this time in definite appraisal.

"Shame on you! You should have acted immediately when your mate was in distress."  
>Those words moved Alucard quicker than an order from Integra ever had. He leaped forward, practically choking in his frenzied reaction.<p>

"Mate?"

"_MATE?_"

Integra spared no time to be annoyed with her former's servant's poorly motivated reaction; she was too busy stumbling over the very idea herself. She caught Yumi by the lapel of her dress, practically spitting as she demanded, "Just _what_ do you take me for?"

Behind her, Alucard paused; Yumi, however, giggled.

"Oh, I'm afraid I don't know much about you beyond your name. But Alucard's reputation has reached even we Ancients. When vampire of his stature is not thirsty for the blood of conquest over his enemies, he's steeping in the blood of conquest of a…different nature. Of course, this doesn't happen often; he's not really that kind of man. But really, seeing your beauty, I made that conclusion. A vampire like Alucard doesn't give his blood to any mortal. Such a sacrifice is generally reserved for the procuring of servants or followers—" She jerked her head in Seras' direction. "Or, on even rarer occasions, when he has found a companion he desires to spend eternity with." Noting Alucard's unnatural silence and Integra's flustered confusion for the first time, Yumi dipped her head humbly.

"Ah, it seems I made an unforgivable error. Please, at least accept my profuse apologies. I fear I have made things uncomfortable, and, even worse, have caused the true purpose of my visit here to be lost. May we adjourn to the quaint little cottage over there? I have some rather serious things to talk about, the likes of which I'd prefer to discuss away from wandering ears."

Slowly, Integra released her and stepped away. She tried to keep her eyes from wandering to Alucard's in search of an answer—he was avoiding her gaze, anyway—but she still felt completely distracted at the revelation of this new information.

In lieu of the silence that threatened to stretch nerves thin, the perky Seras Victoria dissipated the topic by asking, "Excuse me, Ms. Yumi? What's up with the birds, Miss? It's night, and they're still fluttering around and singing as if it were midday."  
>Smiling in her ancient yet ageless manner, Yumi stepped forward and ruffled the girl's blond, spikey hair.<p>

"They sing for the joy of pure children like you, of course. Goodness, how young you are! I've actually forgotten being your age, you know." She closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment of serene reminiscence before spreading her arms. The small brown bird that had never left her shoulder let out its warbling, beautiful song, and took to the sky. It was only then that Integra absently drew the parallel between their visitor and that small brown bird. Both seemed plain at first, but hid beauty beyond compare within them.

"The birds always follow me," Yumi explained. "And I only wander this world after dusk. Even then, the beloved creatures would follow me, blessing me with their music no human-made device could hope to imitate. It is for this reason, perhaps, that I gained a reputation and title of my own: The Nightingale."

Immediately, legends and poems flowed through Integra's mind, and she could see by the flash of recognition in her young subordinate's eyes that this experience was not lost on Seras. Without giving them time to take this in, Yumi stepped toward the small house.

"Come," she said. "We have much to discuss. I've come to warn you…and to prepare you for a fight you otherwise could not win."


	6. Reborn in True Blood

**Again, not much change to this chapter. Enjoy. **

_The world is changing._

_Shadows are shifting._

_What was once buried in slumber is stirring._

_Is this world ending?_

_How could it not be?_

_What else is supposed to happen, when the ancient preys upon the new and vulnerable?_

Thoughts, theories, and questions raced through Integra's head as she akwardly offered a modern, British teapot to a prim, multi-millennia-old draculina. Her own throat was dry with thirst, the kind even the best teas would not satisfy, but she could put that aside for now. There was plenty of time for a liter of preserved blood later.

"Thank you," Yumi said sweetly. "It's been ages since I've had a cup of decent tea. I am British, you know. And proud of it." She winked at Integra, who managed a faint smile, unsure as to how she ought to act or feel in the presence of such advanced age, wisdom, and beauty.

Across the table from her, Seras seemed to be facing the same dilemma. The youthful vampire shifted edgily in her seat, eyes shifting from Alucard to Yumi, and then occasionally between Alucard and Integra herself. It was easy to see that the tension Yumi's intrusion had caused between the two of them bothered the girl, but Integra was just as unsure as to how she should address that. Frustration tried her patience, and her manners. She ground her teeth in silent helplessness, yearning for a world and a life she had actually held control over. Now, she couldn't control her nightmares, her fears, her servant…or, more ominously, her thirst for blood.

_Do you regret the decision you made in that cushioned little cell?_

Integra slammed her fist down on the table, silencing the insidious voice worming its way around her mind and bringing all attention to herself.

"Good God! You'd think the she-demon had already done her duty and silenced us all with the rate this briefing is going at! You!" she jabbed her finger towards Yumi. "Start talking! That's what you came to do, after all, isn't it? You!" The finger swung towards Seras Victoria, who yelped and jerked into attention. "Stop gawking! You're a vampire, someday you'll be this old too. Besides, it's rude to stare, especially at the elderly. And you." No pointing was required; Alucard met her gaze evenly for the first time in an hour. Satisfied, Integra drew in a breath before issuing her final order.

"_Smirk_, damn you."

Alucard's eyebrows arched lightly at the oddity of her request. "Hm?" His deep voice pierced the unnatural silence as effectively as her sharp one had.

"Smirk! I've had enough of you acting like a guilty street brat whose been caught doing something he shouldn't. I _command_ you to smirk! Unleash that cocky grin of yours—the one I always found so damn annoying! While you're at it, you might as well put on those tacky goggles of God-forsaken hideousness on as well. I don't care what you or how you do it, just start acting yourself again." Her glasses glinted in the candlelight. "That's an _order_."

"You've got it wrong," Alucard replied quietly.

That was _not_ the response she wanted.

"_What?_" she ground out, doing her best to maintain the air of ominous, righteous fury she had always displayed at such insolence.

"I wasn't caught doing something I shouldn't." His voice was painting with regret and guilt—unsettlingly uncharacteristic. "I was caught for something I didn't do. I didn't listen to you, even though you've never steered any of your subordinates, no matter how many or few, off the beaten path to victory. I didn't see your distress, and overlooked your injuries and fear. I failed to protect you, and for that I will never forgive myself, my master…" His voice trailed off, and he met her eyes. "Integra."  
>Her throat burned as the need for blood was joined by an irrational desire for his blood.<p>

_The way he says my name… _

"Still," Alucard continued, a hint of his old luster creeping into his voice. "What's done is done, and you are still being threatened. Therefore, it will not only be my duty—" The familiar smirk split across his face, baring his fearsome fangs and setting his eyes ablaze. "But my _pleasure_ to silence this new threat at once. From what I've heard, it may even be a challenge worthy of my time." Slowly and deliberately, he reached inside his long, crimson coat and pulled out his orange glasses, sliding them up the bridge of his nose with a rumbling chuckle. "Wonderful," he crooned. "This week just keeps getting more memorable."

"While Integra's life may be at risk," Yumi interjected mildly. "She isn't your new enemy's prime target."

"Who, then?" Alucard's gaze shot to Seras. "The Police Girl?" A dangerous note crept into his growl. As his protégé, it was natural that the young woman would be an object of value he took upon himself to protect. Integra, too, felt the need to keep her safe. She was too full of life to be taken away; her innocence and cheer brought a light to their otherwise shadowy, morbidy lives.

"Me?" Seras squeaked, shrinking in her chair a bit. It was times like these that she forgot she was now a powerful draculina. Integra cherished a fond smile at this. Silly Police Girl.

Yumi's next words, however, wiped the smile off her face.

"Of course not," the ancient vampire responded in surprise. "Alucard, Ame's prime target is you."

"Ame?" Alucard queried.

"Alucard?" Integra demanded at the same time, cold clutching at her belly.  
>Yumi noted both of them with a nod.<p>

"Ame is your enemy," she said, answering Alucard's question first. "She, too, is one of the ancients. She is also my sister…which is why I felt the need to rouse myself and come to your aide." She bowed her head slightly. "I wish I could erase all the wrong my family has done to this world as it is; it doesn't help that my bloodthirsty witch of a sister decided to wake up again and cause even more destruction, even if it _is_ for the sake of a mate."

"A…mate?" Alucard repeated incredulously, and Yumi smiled wryly.

"Yes, Alucard. I'm not the only one who has been aware of your existence. We ancients sleep, but we are still aware of the goings-on of this world. You make quite a statement among the whispers and rumors of those who walk by night. Ame desires you; in her mind, you are the only _true_ dracula left in this ruined existence, and Integra is the one draculina that stands in her way. Hence, her attack. She had no desire to kill you during your first encounter." With this last note, she turned to Integra. "She wants you to die slowly, being consumed both in body and in spirit. It's a…specialty of hers. As long as you die cowering and screaming in shame and gore, like some run-down animal in a hunt, she will feel you are no longer her competition. Then, and only then, will she feel free to move in on her desired trophy." Yumi closed her eyes and gave a delicate shudder.

"I've known my sister longer than mankind has known its history," she said in a quiter tone. "We haven't spoken in centuries, but I am sure this is what she desires. Integra, you are in grave danger. I'll grant you, you're stronger than I gave you credit for; I originally arrived here expecting to find you reduced to a half-mad, trembling mass. But as it is, we have time, for my sister does not expect you to be functional, either. And, now that she ahs actually awoken, she can no longer access the constant streams of information running through the essence of the living world without means of some proper agents. While she procures these, we shall strengthen and train you to do battle as true vampires do."

"_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_"

Explosive, manic laughter ripped through the tenor of the conversation as Alucard threw back his head and released his unconscionable pleasure to the ceiling. Clapping his hands, he bared his glistening fangs in a magnificent smirk.

"Excellent," he gasped. "This is truly glorious; never would I begin to hope that this situation would be one of necessity, yet here we are. My master will make a True Vampire. You need say no more, Ancient One." He stood, looming over the three women in the room as his eyes glowed crimson behind the orange lenses. "I can take care of her preparation; I know what must be done first."

"I'm sure you do," Yumi said carefully. "But, Alucard, I'm sure that you can remember…it's not exactly an easy experience…"

"Integra can withstand the emotional strain," Alucard replied dismissively. "She's too strong to fall under something so petty."

Emotional strain? Integra tried to catch their attention as the two vampires argued.

"You can't know that for sure…"

"Know? I couldn't _be_ more certain! I've known her her entire life."

"Compared to the eternity she's faced with, that's not any great stretch of time, Alucard."

"Easy for you to—"

"SILENCE!"

Integra interrupted them both, flinging a saucer against the wall to catch their attention. Composing herself, she closed her eyes and asked levelly, "What _exactly_ must I do?"

"Perform the glory of a true bloodsucker, by light of this rather convenient full moon," Alucard purred, drawing back the curtains to let the silver beams in.

"A little less poetic, and more factual, please," Integra responded coldly. Yumi took her hand, startling her. The draculina's violet eyes bored into hers, swimming with sympathy and worry.

"You have to hunt, Integra," she said. "You have to make your first kill, and partake of the blood that comes from it. Your little packaged goods…really don't do the trick. It is not in our nature to be fed processed food as pets. We are predators. Go and meet your prey."

The beast inside Integra roared in agreement, clawing at her throat with its hungry talons, but every bit of reason and statute she had ever stood for rose up in utter defiance.

"You are asking me," she managed. "To murder a human being…to hunt and slaughter a _sentient being_ deliberately, not only to satiate my sick desire for blood, but so I can become stronger and protect my sin of an existence."

Yumi closed her eyes wearily. "Integra…"

"This," Alucard interjected. "Is where the true spirit of a vampire is decided." Suddenly, Integra was swept up in strong, unyielding arms. Despite her inhuman strength, she was helpless.

"I will deal with this," Alucard said to Yumi and Seras, who had both begun to protest. "After all…she's my responsibility." With that, his cloak was torn open by a horde of screeching bats, and the room dissolved away as they took to the air.  
>Before she knew it, Integra was overlooking the small village near their temporary residence. It was one in the morning, and the full moon bathed the sleeping town with an ominous glow. Alucard stood behind Integra, as he always had, but this time, he seemed to tower over her in every way; she felt diminuative and small, not the master nor the servant, but the pupil.<p>

"We were not meant," growled the vampire lord. "To be coddled or kept as anyone's pet dog to snap at the heels of nasty intruders. A true vampire is not afraid, hesitant, or ashamed to sacrifice the lives of humans so he or she might live. We have been given eternity, Integra, to spend as we see fit. What right do we have to waste it by trying to be something other than ourselves? We are _monsters._" He caught her chin firmly in his hand, and his eyes burned into hers. The hunger filled her, both for the blood that could sustain her and the blood that flowed now so closely to her fangs as this magnificent creature's blood-colored gaze only served to fuel the animalistic desire within her. This was more than hunger; it was a fire, and as it ravaged everything she had once known to define her with one roaring wave, she gasped and snarled like so many damned bloodsuckers she had hunted.

"Yes," Alucard crooned. "You can't contain it. Magnificent. Tell me, Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing...what do you feel? Afraid? Ashamed? Or…" He leaned in, and his fangs grazed her bare throat. Although he didn't break her skin, the touch still sent unfamiliar charges of electricity through her entire body. "Do you feel alive?" His whisper wafted across her cheek and neck, and with another snarl, she broke free. For one second, Sir Integra of the Hellsing Organization strove to break free of the demon she had accepted into her fold…but in the next glorious instant, the new Integra that had been reborn that first day in the prison cell was finally free to act as she pleased. She felt the same fire that raged within her—that agonizing, beautiful conflagration that defined her with desires and instincts not known by any human—leap into her eyes as one thought shone clearly in her mind.

_Blood._

Like a shadow, she turned and leapt off the cliff, entering the village below like a nightmare. Exhilaration flowed in waves with the hunger, driving her even further forward. Excitement. This world was new; she was seeing it from a different perspective. These dwellings, and those within them…for this one night of indulgement and instinct, these were not elements of some mother country and rotting, forgotten pride she had been called to protect. They were targets, obstacles that kept her from her prey. But still, she was not entirely defined by some animal lust for the lifeforce of any random innocent; a corner of her mind held the memory of a crime family located on the outskirts of the village. Racing faster than the shadows on the ground, she entered the house as a cloud covered the moon. It was at that sacred hour that the night was painted with blood, and from the horrific deaths of humanity's scum, Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing was reborn in True Blood as a draculina.

Time passed, as did the clouds, and when the moon shone again on the still-sleeping town, Integra staggered from the dwelling she had defiled with death, wiping blood from her mouth and gasping, the fire depleted and her reason returning to her. Shock and horror filled her usually steely blue eyes as she looked down at her blood-stained hands.

"Dear God," she whispered. "I—what have I—?"

Once again, she was swept up in Alucard's strong arms, and he bore her away to the hill they had first stood on before she had relenquished her reason to the bloodthirsty monster within her. Unable to accept the monstrosities she had committed, Integra abandoned all sense of pride and honor, allowing herself to break down and bury her face in her former servant's chest, trembling and despising herself.

"No, Integra." Cruel hands pulled her away, refusing to allow her to hide from herself. Covering her face with her hands, she screamed, wanting only to wake up, for the nightmare to end…

Realizing the key to her silence was physical comfort, Alucard gave in and gently pulled her against him, running his fingers through the bloodied strands of her silver hair.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "You saw a side of me that you never knew, as well as yourself. This initiation…is hard for every one of us. So many years have passed, and I have forgotten everything from my first days as a bloodsucker…save for this. It is a nightmare that will never leave your memory…but you are stronger now. You…I couldn't let her take you from me."

His words gave her pause when they finally reached her level of comprehension. She weakly pulled away, feeling more fragile than ever.

"Stronger?" She managed a bitter laugh. "I feel damned, Alucard. Shattered. But this…was my choice. Don't pity me…" Tears finally came, crimson tears filled with emotions she couldn't put a name to. She didn't want him to take the blame for this—her guilt was crippling, and to imagine him having to bear the same burden was unbearable. Still crying, she reached up, and, blinded by tears ran her fingers down the side of his face. He remained still, frozen by her touch, fighting different ideas as to how he ought to react. Finally, he reached out and brushed the tears from her face, bringing them to his lips before leaning in and kissing her.

Integra paused in mid-sob as every competent thought she had managed to gather disappeared. Then, there was that hunger again. Not the pressing, needy kind, but the one that had joined it. It was a hunger she had no hesitation in surrendering to, and she kissed him back. Moonlight shone down, filling the veins of two nightwalkers with life and a sense of belonging. The kiss didn't last long; Integra drew away, resting her forehead against Alucard's strong chest as she processed yet another horde of new sensations. A gap between them she had always thought would stand as an impassable obstacle had been erased in a night of bloodshed. He had always seemed centuries away from her reach, but she had the same amount of forever as he did now. What had just happened? What _would_ happen?

All questions lost relevance as Alucard drew her close and buried his face in her neck, his breath rushing against her skin yet again. And again, his fangs brushed her throat, but this time, they sank through. This was not in some self-indulgent desire for her blood; it was a mutual understanding that her blood satisfied his hunger in a different, more wholesome way than any other would. Desiring the fullness she somehow knew he was experiencing, she lifted her head and sank her teeth into his throat. Sure enough, his blood brought to her satiation and peace. She relaxed against him, lulled into a sleep she had never expected to find again.

Alucard stood, cradling his former master in his arms. What was she now? Much more had been brought to life in this night of blood than he had originally expected. From now on, he knew, everything would change. A new enemy had shown her face, and the woman he had always desired to follow him into eternity was finally in his arms.

_The world is changing._

_Shadows are shifting._

_What has long lain, waiting in slumber, is finally awake._

_Is this world ending?_

_No, my dearest Integra._

_Our world is only just beginning._


	7. A Step in Which Direction?

**Hello dears! Now, this chapter has some changes. I have…hm…elaborated in some areas. Details, delicious details. I hope you enjoy them. Cheers.~**

_My world has shifted from day to night. I am surrounded by darkness, and have lost the primordial fear of it. I am no longer…_

Human.

Her eyes flew open, and in the suffocating blackness of her surroundings, she knew she was seeing more than she ever should have been able to.

_With my human eyes._

She had corrected herself without a second thought. Had it really only been hours before that accepting her new identity had been a conscious struggle? Every minute that had passed her by had been filled with ponderous mental dialogue, rarely bereft of the word "vampire". Now, it was the touch of humanity she had to pause for a moment to recall.

_Blood._

The first hunt truly _was_ the birth of a vampire.

Integra licked her lips, realizing how dry her throat felt. How long _had_ it been since she had drenched herself in the crimson life force of those humans? Her memories were fragmented; she hadn't been herself that night. What had happened? She yearned for details, although she couldn't fathom why. Pensively, she stretched her hand out to touch the ornate darkened wood that hung so precariously low over her face.

_I'm in a coffin._

A wry smile tickled her lips. This was the first time she had ever slept in a coffin as a blood sucker. If memory served, she and her fellows had managed the populace with only one coffin, and that coffin had been…

_Alucard's._

Nauseated embarrassment coiled her stomach into twisted knots as a few particular memories materialized before her subconscious. Alucard, catching her in his powerful arms as she wailed like a newborn suckling torn from its mama. Alucard, brushing the bloody tears from her cheeks and tasting them as if they were not putrid and unacceptable signs of her weakness. Alucard, drawing her close and—

Integra gasped audibly and bit her lip until blood trickled down her chin. That bastard had _pitied_ her when he ought to have reminded her who she was; a true knight of the Hellsing family _never_ showed signs of weakness. He had sympathized over her to the point of _kissing_ her when he should have been leering through those damnable goggles and taunting her until her tears had run dry from the sheer force of acidic pride she always kept so close to her heart.

And what was worse…she had kissed him back.

_Hellfire. I'll kill him._

Suddenly hyperaware of the dull ache in her throat, she stirred restlessly. It had been too long since the last time she indulged in sweet, succulent relief. Her hunger had returned, a thirst for satiation to that edgy, crawling feeling that vibrated up and down her spine.

Unable to contain herself any long, she threw open the top of the coffin and greeted the intrusive downpour of daylight with a guttural oath. Temporarily blinded, she still managed to find her voice.

"Alucard!" The rasping pain in her throat restricted her summons to a ravenous snarl, but he was by her side in an instant.

"_Integra._"

He loomed over her, blocking the scalding sun and searching her with molten eyes of crimson as a toothy grin streaked across his visage in an arc of white.

"Excellent," he began. "You've finally awo— "

Before he could blink, she was on her feet and inches away from his throat; her fingers wound around his lapel in a grip of mortality as she leveled him with a commanding stare.

"Damn you," she hissed. "Don't even try to pull your pleasantries with me; you know what I want." His grin widened.

"So it hasn't worn off yet. I'm afraid it would be imprudent to let you run rampant in the middle of the day, Integra. However, my blood is always yo—"

"Shut up!" He paused, and she smiled demurely, released one fistful of scarlet fabric to pull a silver lighter out of her inner jacket pocket.

"Get me a smoke, you presumptuous bastard," she ordered. "My throat is dry; I haven't had a decent light in hours."

Five minutes later, she was lounging on the top of his coffin, soaking in bliss-filled drags of Winzermans' finest and smirking at an incredibly disappointed vampire lord as he slouched in the corner opposite to her.

"Incredible," Alucard said disdainfully. "Even after your first kill, you still maintain that habit."

"Hush," Integra said, blowing a lungful of smoke in his direction as she did so. "You know what they say about habits."

"They die slowly," remarked her former servant. "But they _die_ nevertheless." A purr slid into his voice as he added, "You never will."

Integra frowned. Despite his banter, Alucard had been acting strangely ever since she woke up. "Tell me," she said, eager for a relevant topic to distract him. "What made you imagine that I was hungry so soon after last night's hunt?" Part of her was disgusted at how lightly she could discuss the massacre she had committed, but she persevered. "You mentioned that something hadn't worn off. Explain."

Alucard removed his glasses and regarded her with a more serious look than she was accustomed to.

"The fiery blood of the first hunt," he replied. "Is known to…run its course for quite a while." His fangs made a discreet appearance in a private smile. "I admit, my master, that I was consumed by curiosity as to what sort of effect it would have on you. You see, in the hours following the wetting of true blood on our palettes…_we are not ourselves._"

There was something about the underlying growl creeping into his voice that made the last sentence seem more like a promise than anything, and Integra wondered why her skin was suddenly prickling.

"This is especially true of you draculina," Alucard continued, standing and drawing Integra's loyal rapier from where it had been resting against the wall. "Females react so differently…it is nearly impossible to predict their reactions to freshly drawn blood in those next few hours." Then, before Integra could react, he grinned manically and slid the shining blade across his palm.

The smell that spilled out of his mangled flesh, preceding even the tantalizing flow of blood, was indescribable. She drew in a deep breath, and it stuck to her tongue and nostrils, taunting her.

She wanted more.

A smoldering puff broke the brief silence as Integra surged forward with a lusty snarl. She was barely aware of Alucard's anticipatory chuckle as she pinned him against the wall with unimaginable strength.

Looking into her hunger-filled eyes as they glowed a ravenous crimson, Alucard felt his grin widen even further, until his fangs split into his lower lip. Her breath wafted across his face in uneven, heated panting, and he could tell that this was going to be even more interesting than he had originally hoped for.

He struggled to free his bleeding hand, and held it up just out of her reach. With the bare blade of her rapier, he had managed to put a stop to her attack right before her talon-like fingers tore through his chest. He was wearing his favorite coat, and had no desire to see it ruined. Besides, the ease with which he was holding her off _had_ to be infuriating her.

A keening mix of snarl and groan tore from Integra's throat as the blood, held just out of her reach, continued to run down his skin in sinuous streaks. Trembling from the effort to force her way through his guard, she managed to inch her neck forward a few centimeters before extending her now vampirically elongated tongue to catch the crimson bounty. Alucard felt the slickness of it slide across his palm eagerly, and had to admit he was impressed. Her willpower was unstoppable whether she was rational or not. Beyond that, however, the feel of her tongue running along his skin sent a rush through his body.

Dipping his head with a chuckle, Alucard ran his own tongue along the blood-slickened blade of Integra's sword and was rewarded by the tiniest pang as he cut himself.

"Whoops," he crooned through now-bloodied lips as Integra's quivering gaze locked onto his mouth. In her state, the opening of _any_ new wound was to her what the snapping of a twig in the night-darkened forest was to a prowling wolf. He slid his bleeding tongue across the polished surface of his fangs and leered at her, thinking with an inward burst of devious satisfaction that when she regained consciousness, Master Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing would be furious.

Striking his arm aside, the silvery-haired draculina thrust herself forward to get at the warm blood staining his mouth. The rapier clattered to the floor as her tongue first caught the escaping drips from his chin, and then curved in a smooth arc up towards his lips.

Alucard's eyes widened. He had figured that with a wound so close to his throat, she would naturally strike a little bit below where the blood flow was at its fullest. The wound in his mouth had been the bait a bit above the hook, but he had misinterpreted the effects of her first kill. This fiery-blooded draculina he had once called "master" was after a bit more than blood. Even now, her tongue was dancing almost teasingly across his lips, and if he opened his mouth…

Integra's fingers were digging into his chest as she arched her back to pin her hips against his; if he had a pulse, he was sure it would be pounding with the same intense heat that laced her breath. Growling against the explosive build-up of fire he felt within his body, he extricated her hands and tried to push her away. This was Integra…he had never intended to lure her into this sort of trap.

But for once, influenced as she was by the high of her first hunt, Integra was stronger than he was. She twisted out of his grip and pinned his wrists against the wall with both hands before launching another attack, this time pressing her lips against his to coax his mouth open.

_Such bittersweet temptation._

Thankfully, that was when the ancient draculina decided to intrude and check on Integra's progress.

Of course, once the flash of gratitude that had appeared with her presence had faded, he could appreciate the righteous indignation that burned in her violet eyes.

Integra woke for the second time that day with a smoke-hungry throat and very little memory of what had last happened. However, this time she was thankfully cushioned by a twin-sized bed…and had the metallic tang of blood in her mouth.

Yumi, the ancient draculina, was sitting at her bedside.

"Ah, good evening," she greeted Integra pleasantly. "How are you feeling?"

Integra sat up. "Decent enough. I see that it's evening; did I really sleep a whole day after that…massacre?" Even with the added pause, she couldn't shake the feeling that her abominable acts had been perfectly natural.

Yumi's depthless eyes shifted. "Erm…not exactly," she admitted. "You woke up for a few minutes around noon. Alucard brought you one of your smoking sticks, you two spoke for a few minutes, and then…you lost your sense of reason for a bit."

"Is that so?" Integra's blue eyes narrowed. The old one was omitted something from that already blatantly nondescript tale of hers, and she felt her already stringent reserve of patience wearing ever thinner. "Who did I slaughter this time?" Then, she realized that an everpresent piece in her life was absent. "Where's Alucard?" A fantastical idea struck her like a hammer. "Did I…?" It was entirely impossible.

"Oh no!" Yumi was quick to correct her. "He's…ah…licking his wounds in some dark, brooding corner." This was stated with what Integra was sure should have been a reassuring smile, but it looked a bit…smug.

"Really now?" Amusement softened her shell of cynicism at the idea of Alucard sustaining injuries during a mere temper tantrum caused by her newborn blood. "Was I that violent?"

"No, I was," Yumi replied, not letting her smile slip for an instant. Integra sat back in shock; it looked a bit…villainous now.

"You…hurt Alucard?" she managed? The sweet-faced woman nodded. "Whatever for?"

Suddenly uneasy again, Yumi looked down at her crossed fingers. "He…was instigating your reactions to the fresh blood you had consumed," she said slowly. "He…uh…wanted to see how it would affect _you._"

Integra scowled. That didn't sound good. "Ah," she said simply. "And how did it, exactly?"

Yumi cleared her throat, a slight blush painting her cheeks. "Sexually."

It took a moment for the full meaning of Yumi's words to dawn on Integra Hellsing, but when they did…

Seras jumped with a yelp as the attic door smashed open against the wall, revealing a frothing Integra.

"_AAAAALLLLUUUUUCCCAAAAARRRRRDDDD!_"

Marching forward with blue eyes spitting fire and white-blond hair cascading wildly over her face, Integra Hellsing looked very much the knight she had always upheld herself so well to be, if not a goddess of battalion fury. The pixie-haired draculina made a quick getaway from where she had been treating her master's rather substantial bruises and gashes. Not a moment too soon, either, for Integra had grabbed a fistful of Alucard's ruffled collar and jerked him to his feet.

"_Damn you!_" she shouted. "_Who in the hell do you think you are to treat me like that?_"

Rather than answer her question, Alucard found it for some reason irresistible to smirk and say, "Well, _this_ certainly has a ring of déjà vu."

It wasn't a very tactful response. Integra's hand flew across his cheek in a stinging slap, and she turned her back on him with a disgusted snort.

"I was wrong in my predictions of your response," Alucard admitted to her retreating figure. "If I had begun to imagine the idea of what you would try to…"

She whirled and slapped him again. "What _I_ would try to do?"

"Now, now," Yumi said quickly, realizing how disastrously this confrontation would fall to pieces if it were allowed to continue. "Integra, it's over. I actually believe that he had no intention of taking advantage of you."

"You do _now_," Alucard muttered, fingering a gash. "After you nearly cut me to ribbons, you rabid dog of a draculina."

Yumi turned up her nose at him. "When I see a fellow female in distress, I take action upon her antagonizer," she reprimanded the great vampire. "But that's beside the point. I want to train Integra."

Silence fell over the room as all eyes fixed on her.

"What," Alucard questioned softly. "Gives you the right to assume that as your responsibility?"

"You are obviously incapable of addressing it," Yumi replied coolly. "And, as a fellow draculina, I am physically more suited to the task. There will be no disputes about this; Integra will eventually have to face my sister, and she is far from prepared to do that, as I'm sure you all know. Even a mental link was enough to incapacitate her for a few hours."

"But…"

"Very well," Integra interjected on Alucard's protest. "Alucard, continue to prepare Seras. I don't want her being caught off-guard, either."

"Integra…"

"Do not question my decision!" There was genuine anger in her voice; her pride wasn't the only thing that had been damaged by his escapade. Her trust in him was suffering right now, and she needed some space. Gone were her memories of the night she had screamed in the bloodbath of her hunger and his gentle kiss to calm her.

"Do not," she repeated, meeting his eyes. "I've made my choice clear."

When Yumi and her master's master had long since been gone from the room and Alucard's eyes still guarded the closed door emptily, Seras cautiously reached out and tugged on his sleeve.

"Master," she began. "It'll be alr—"

"I know, Police Girl." He reluctantly tore his eyes away and looked at her. Even now, she was young and pure, untainted by the spilling of blood and the madness it yielded as a result.

"Will I…will I have to do the same thing she did?" Seras queried tremulously. "With the…first hunt and all?" A chill ran through her at the memory of what she and Yumi had walked in on; it had taken several minutes and the efforts of all three of them to restrain the snarling, lustful Integra. She didn't want to turn into someone else. She didn't want to lose her sense of reason…

"No."

Alucard's response surprised her; she had been sure he would mock her as a coward and condition her to the lifestyle of a predatory vampire anyway. However, his gaze was soft as he continued to take her measure.

"No," he murmured, more to himself than to her. "Perhaps it will be good to have a vampire who does not walk alone in the night." Then, louder, "I will train you, Police Girl, to fight an ancient draculina and survive. However…it will be on your terms. Is that fair?"

"Hardly," breathed Seras, and then unleashed a youthful grin. "Thank you!" she shrilled. "My master!" Leaping to her feet, she raced out of the room, filled with relief and excitement.

Alucard closed his eyes. Even though it had been under the influence of bloodlust, Integra's voluntary kiss had ignited something within him that he had thought died with his human past, so very many centuries ago. His means of acquiring that closure had been disdainful, but the results…

He couldn't get the taste of her off his lips. It reminded him of _his_ very first hunt. There was a loss of reason, and a hunger that he could not seem to tame…


	8. Penny for Your Thoughts

**More stuffs. This is not that different from its predecessor. Here you go. c:**

"You can open your eyes now!"

The distinctive flare of etiquette in her new teacher's voice combined with the unmistakable shift in light as the foreign hands were lifted from her eyes were both so practically childlike in character and unfitting in protocol that Integra could practically taste the surge of sarcasm between the tips of her fangs. Letting out a soft breath to mask an exasperated sigh, she obeyed Yumi's trilling request.

"Oh." Once again, she could appreciate the newly honed quality of her vampiric senses; ordinary human eyes would have taken several seconds to adjust after such a sudden shift from darkness to light. Now, she was able to take in her surroundings almost immediately. So, this was the ancient draculina's personal training room.

_This is…_

"Welcome to my humble abode, Miss Hellsing." Yumi bowed her head, ushering Integra to a nearby armchair with only a hint of her conventional gentle teasing evident as she did so. "What do you think?"

"What the _hell_ is this?" Integra answered almost immediately, grateful to express her feelings on the matter.  
>Yumi laughed, a musical peal reminiscent of her nickname "Nightingale". Undeterred, Integra continued.<p>

"You expect me to accept this veritable Sahara as the personalized abode of a draculina vampire? Tch. Your drapes are as thin as the queen's fine silk; what happened to your abhorrence of the sunlight? Even as a _human_, I would have thought this room was too damned bright! And your furniture…I had no idea we would be entertaining the prime minister; I would have worn something more gaudy to match these stuffy old chairs. What I _think_, Ms. Yumi, is that you are actually my grandmother cleverly disguised and come back from the grave to berate me for my boorish ways. Tell me, am I here to learn methods of defense against the deadliest enemy I have ever encountered, or to join you for a quaint afternoon tea?"

Yumi folded her hands coquettishly under her chin. "I'm certain he's sorry about the whole incident, Integra…"

"What?" The batty old vampire was making no sense whatsoever!

"…however, you'll just have to stow your indignation, along with the long-winded complaints it stirs up, safely away until _after_ our training session. You can make ou—_up_ with Alucard later. This particular lesson is one of vital importance, you see." With this, and a friendly wink, Yumi rose to pull what pitiful curtains there were away from the windows. Integra cringed away from the hated light and swore.

"If you would calm down for a moment and listen to me," Yumi continued, returning back to her seat across the tea table from Integra. "Everything around you will begin to make sense. These are not my personal quarters, you see. I have the same aversion to the light of day that you do…even more so, in fact, because I am of the Ancient Clan. However, we cannot allow ourselves to be staggered so completely by this weakness." She gestured with a delicately-boned finger to the large windows beside them. "These glass panes prevent the deadlier aspects of the sun's rays from entering this room; once you grow accustomed to the unpleasant glare it presents to your eyes, it is my hope that daylight will do nothing worse to you than bring on a sense of fatigue. In short, you'll begin to feel tired."

Integra nodded, and not only in agreement; the heaviness of sleep was already beginning to press down on her eyelids.

"Have I appeased your curiosity?" Yumi queried with another pleasant laugh. "I can see that the vampire's instinct to sleep during the day has already begun to take hold; hopefully, this will stopper another irate barrage of interrogation and criticism." As Integra restrained herself from another aforementioned outburst, Yumi added, "If it helps, this training is not so much an attempt to strengthen your body as it is one to fortify your mind. These surroundings, so stuffy and familiar as they are to any modern-day British woman, are set in this fashion to further encourage you into a state of hypnosis."

Ah. That made sense. There had been countless occasions during the traditional afternoon teatimes with her grandmother that Integra Hellsing had been bored to the point of heavy sleep. In fact, she recalled with a wry twitch of her lips, she had often been roused from her comfortable, daze-like state by the old crone's piercing, cracked voice.

"I see. I suppose you did well in arranging these specifics." From Integra, an admission of one's correctness was often the closest thing to an apology that could be hoped for.

"I forgive you," Yumi replied with a shrewd smile.

"Well, that's nice. I never apologized."

"Your mind supplied the words that your lips were too reluctant to utter," the older draculina tutted. "You really ought to work on those pride issues, Integra." She poured some tea from the tray that had been waiting for them, and offered the cup to Integra who, in turn, was once again trying to salvage her brutally abused store of patience.

"I see," she responded through gritted teeth. "So you're adopting the role of a psychic now? While the ridiculous getup of the room would certainly suffice for such a role, it seems all too immature and nonsensical for my taste. Stop wasting my time on coquetry and get to the point, if you have one."

"My point, Integra, is that you very nearly killed yourself after suffering a mental attack from the draculina Ame," Yumi said bluntly, allowing Integra her request. "I, as her sister, am gifted with the same mental prowess, and am therefore the only chance you have of learning to defend yourself against such an onslaught."

"The only chance I have? Alucard is powerful enough to be on your 'Ancient Radar', if you will. Why can't he be the one to teach me these supposed skills?" Integra caught herself. "Not that I'd want that damned boar in my presence at the moment…"

Yumi sighed. "Well, you certainly had him pegged at 'that damned boar'. The imbecile was too caught up in his lone-wolf lifestyle to invest much energy in developing the unique telepathy we were all born into the night with."

Integra snorted; she had never heard Yumi swear, and it made perfect sense that Alucard would be lacking in this particular area of skill. It seemed like far too delicate an operation for him; while she had heard him speak inside her mind on certain occasions, she had never considered he would actually _read_ her thoughts.

_If he had been able to…oh God…_

Shaking the horrifically embarrassing scenarios from her mind, Integra gave Yumi her full attention.

"Well, it sounds like we're on the same page now. We can agree that Alucard is mentally lacking a bit of luster, for a vampire. I can't deny, this prospect is agreeable. Please, continue."

Yumi giggled, but then gained a more serious composure. "While I cannot specifically teach you the technique of defending your mind and consciousness, I can offer my personal assurance that the instinct to do so lies within every person, be they human or otherwise. As a vampire who not so long ago lived as a human, your defenses will be frail and unused. Today, we will simply be building them up, allowing them to grow accustomed to near-constant use. I would not dare to enter your mind while you are in this inexperienced and fragile state; rather, you will open your mind to all that is around you. That alone will—"

"I thought I was the long-winded one here. Cut to the chase, Old One." Integra's pride was rearing its head again; never once did she appreciate being considered weak.  
>Yumi frowned and shook her head.<p>

"Arrogant _and_ impatient. Your character traits are turning out to be quite an attractive selection for an honorably-bred draculina." Integra merely smiled fiercely; uncharacteristic sarcasm from this woman was merely a sign that she was repaying the discomfort of a sunlit room.

"Drink the tea I gave you," Yumi stated, returning to her former more genteel nature. "I should warn you, it's laced with a light sedative. I am going to sing to you; as the Nightingale, my abilities allow me some form of control over one's mind. If I do not sedate you, your subconscious will force you into a state of panic as I lower your human barriers."

While she showed no aversion to the idea, Integra wasn't thrilled. This sounded like it would be a tad unpleasant. Suddenly, she caught herself wishing she hadn't left Alucard on such bad terms; his presence right now would be more than reassuring.

"I understand," she heard herself say, against every instinct that screamed within her. "Cheers, then."

Again, in an almost mechanical matter, she raised the intricately designed teacup in a brief salute, and then brought it to her lips.

_I don't like this…_  
>The steam that rose to greet her made her eyes sting, but the aroma of the tea was quite sweet.<p>

_Never once have I appreciated the feeling of being out of control. This woman is practically a stranger, and an admitted relation to the hellspawn that almost killed me with my own hands…_

The brim of the cup brushed her lips, trembling with her fingers as she remembered the last nightmarish experience she had encountered.

_I have no choice but to trust her. Alucard will prevent anything from happening to me, if this is a trap, right?_

She choked slightly in surprise; the amber liquid was as bitter as vinegar.

_He's right outside the door…isn't he?_

A collage of everything that had happened recently, from his actions to her mindless reactions, poured before her vision up to the point when she had left him in the attic. She had been so angry, and there had been something in his eyes she had never seen before.

_I couldn't discern it now if I tried._

Then, her vision began to blur, and Integra felt the sedative begin to stifle every doubt, fear, and thought. One last word rang clearly in her mind before her body betrayed her into a relaxed state of hypnosis:

_Alucard._

_Creak._

Alucard stirred from his brooding thoughts only to allow a venomous glare at the hallway that lay beyond the door of his room. In his mind, darkened more by confusion than anger, those floorboards were more worthy of the damnation to hell than any pint-sized bloodsucker at the moment.

They had interrupted his thought-process; he had lost any lead on the situation he might have hoped to have before that damned creak.

Dropping to the floor from where he had been hanging, the vampire lord made a move towards the door. Floorboards were inanimate; to unleash any sort of punishment on them would be futile and laugh-worthy action. However, _someone_ had to making them complain in such an irritating manner.

_I hope it's that old hag. I would __**love**__ to try my hand in repaying the injuries she did me before._

Practically itching for an excuse to engage in such a conflict with Yumi, Alucard didn't even bother to open the door; he shifted right through it, gathering shadows around him in order to appear even more aggressive and confront…

The Police Girl?

Alucard stopped dead in his tracks, looming over poor Seras Victoria. He apparently looked every bit as ominous as he felt; the poor draculina was shaking as he loomed over her.

"M-may I help you, M-m-master?" the girl stammered, but her words were lost on Alucard. He had noticed that she was with Integra.

No. _Carrying_ Integra.

_"What happened to her?"_ His voice, laced with the terrible power that roiled so close to the surface of his control, terrified Seras even more. Fumbling to maintain her grip on Integra's arm, which had been looped rather clumsily over her shoulder, she stammered her response.

"P-please Master…she's alright, I promise! Ms. Yumi said she was only sleeping…something about going a little overboard on training time…"  
>Swooping forward in a still semi-vaporized state, Alucard enveloped Integra's limp form in his arms.<p>

"I'll take her from here, Police Girl," he said, careful to ease his voice to a more normal level for her sake. "Go off and play somewhere, or whatever it is you do on your spare time. I'll be down to start _your_ training session shortly."  
>Relieved and not a little grateful, the Police Girl bobbed her head, blond bangs bouncing over sparkling eyes.<p>

"Yes, sir!" As she turned to leave. Alucard thought of something.

"Oh, and if you see that _senile_ miser of a draculina, tell her I'd like to speak with her."

"Of course, Master."

She kept walking away, and he turned to look down at Integra. Her brows were knit in a state of worried restlessness, and aside from the sheen of nervous sweat that lightly dotted her anxious features, there was no sign of exertion. It was all too clear to him what sort of "training" Yumi had been talking about. Fury broiled in him yet again.

"And tell her that I'm not happy with her. _At all._"

Seras took only a second to confirm this last order before scampering off, not wanting to be near her master when he was not happy with _anyone. At all._

_Yumi. Integra's mind is a sacred ground I will not allow even __**you**__ to enter._

As he began a slow and gentle pace back to Integra's room, she twitched and moaned softly, shifting in his arms to bury her face in his chest.

_Such a duty has only ever belonged to me._

He lay her down gently, then paused. Where was this possessive anger coming from? Another impulse he couldn't explain…

Kneeling for a moment to take his former master's hand and calm her as he had in the days of old, Alucard allowed his mind to wander over these curiosities. So much had happened, in so little time; Integra was not the only one thrown into disarray by these events.

_Integra…_

"It was you, if that makes you feel any better."

Yumi's voice, soft and non-disruptive, accompanied Alucard by Integra's side before her body did. He stiffened immediately.

"What do you mean, crone?" The growl in his voice was unmistakable; Yumi smiled.

"How rude; it's not like you're so very young yourself. What I meant was, you were the focus her mind found to gain a sense of balance. Whenever things became harder for her to endure, she always thought of you."  
>He couldn't respond; the words wouldn't come. Unconsciously, his grip on Integra's hand tightened slightly.<p>

_Is it so? Can I even protect you when I'm not really there? Integra…_  
>Yumi slapped him on the back, harder than he would have anticipated from one so small and refined. Starting, he turned to stare at her.<p>

"I didn't enter her mind; ordinarily I would reserve such an exercise for you.

However, Alucard, you must understand that because you have neglected this tradition of our kind, I cannot permit you to perform that test."  
>Reluctantly, he nodded.<p>

"Very well, Yumi. I'll continue to trust you…reservedly."

Yumi dipped her head. "I am thankful and honored to hear it." She stood, dusting off her knees. "I'm going to leave Integra to rest now. You should as well; I feel that, after such an experience, it would be best for her to awaken slowly and on her own terms."

Fire leapt into Alucard's crimson eyes. "And I feel," he responded in a quiet but intense voice. "That I _am_ Integra's terms. I _was_, and if I have lost my place there with the passing of any recent events, I'll be sure to regain my place of trust in her eyes…and her heart."

Yumi's smile widened. "Very well," she said simply, and vanished. Alucard felt Integra's fingers shift softly inside his own, and closed his eyes against the resurgence of unidentified feelings. Now was not the time to dwell on matters of confusion, desire, and sentiment. His master needed him. Integra needed him.

_Integra…when I swore I would never leave your side, I meant it. However…_

Yumi's first words upon entering the room came back to him. They were…a pleasant memory.

_I had never deciphered my true intent beneath those words until now._


	9. Assassin 'neath a Blood Red Moon

**Yet another OC. This one is fully mine, and I admit…I'm rather proud of her. I think all I changed in this version of Chapter 9 was her hair color. That being said, I leave you to your reading. Enjoy.~**

After what any decent bloodsucker would consider countless hours drearily wasted away by withering sunlight, dusk had finally arrived. It was a fairly acceptable dusk, perhaps not laced with enough cloud cover for those with a more delicate margin of light tolerance, affably murky enough to wake one up and get a good job going.

For one certain goal-oriented individual who had only recently taken to lurking around rural Great Britain, the job at hand was all that mattered; she certainly wasn't blue-blooded enough to get picky about light exposure in the later hours of the evening. The very idea of such complaints was ridiculous to her; to think, these stuffy-headed Europeans would turn their ancient noses up at a perfectly decent dusk! That was the better part of a good night, and they preferred to sleep it away. Still, considering the status of the target cottage's inhabitants, this petty preference could work to her favor.

The cottage in question, nestled in a conveniently exposed position atop a nearby hill that overlooked a generous field, matched a tourist's romanticized journal description of a cookie-cutter shepherd's hovel one would expect to find amidst the green of England's countryside. However, its silent surveyor knew that the barren nature of its immediate surroundings was far from convenient to her; she knew this because she was well-informed of the individuals this small house held. Not a one of those three military minds would be careless enough to risk such disclosure unless they had the means to defend their position. Somewhere, no matter how invisible, a guard of sorts was prowling, armed to the teeth and able to spot a threat approaching from any angle of the forest she now hid in.

A tight smile tugged at the lips of the newcomer. Two could play at the prowling game, and she had already determined that the dusk was her ally in this regard. Dropping lightly from the thirty-foot pine tree without breaking a single bone or twig, the superhuman surveyor drew a gray cloak around her shoulders before darting silently across the leafy forest threshold and out into the field.

By the time she approached the nearest cobbled wall, night had fallen in full force. It was a truly _glorious_ night; clouds were beginning to gather, blotting out the obnoxious silver starlight and curling their ebony tendrils across the face of a blood-red moon. In contrast to its usual milky glow, this delightful moonlight was dull and eerie. It did nothing to effect the lovely darkness; the rusted mimicry of its rays only barely caught the tinges of her mahogany hair.

The air shifted in a slight breeze, bringing a fresh and welcome scent to the intruder's nostrils. The smell that would have shifted some sort of primal fear in the chests of other creatures merely caused her own silent heart to tighten in predatory anticipation. Vampires. They were inside the cottage, meaning that _she_ had come to the right place.

"_Gray._"

The word, even though it was spoken in such a cold and deadly tone inside of her mind, wasn't enough to startle her; it was the ominous nature of the presence that invaded soon after which caused her to shudder, despite herself. Irritated, she projected her own thoughts:

_"That's my name, Pumpkin. Was that really necessary? I'm trying to work here."_  
>The Voice was unperturbed. <em>"You'll never use that tone while addressing me again, if you value your own well-being."<em>

_"Yes, O Malicious Majesty. What can I do for you?"_

Her sauciness earned her a mental pressure great enough to make her wince.

_"Don't get carried away. I find it distasteful that there is a need to clarify the fact that no bloodletting is to be done tonight. We are well aware of your nature, but you had better be sure to make this kill as cleanly and quickly as possible."_

_"We? Is our multiple personality disorder kicking up again? Look, I'm a big girl now; I know what I'm doing, and I happen to be very good at my job. I already ate, so don't be getting all pushy and worrisome. You'll have your feast, and whatever twisted little benefits you hope to bring with it. I just don't get why you like your food cold; shouldn't I just bring her in alive?"_

An explosive snarl spread like a wildfire of pain across her temple, and she fell to her knees.

_"Just because you are without your shackles doesn't mean you're free of the whip, slave. You will kill, and you will bring your kill to me. Blood is blood, be it hot or cold, and I can't afford to spend time dirtying my hands. Now, tell me your charge, __**Gray.**__"_

Setting her jaw against the pain of her master's displeasure, the girl braced herself against the wall and stood.

_"I will kill Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, and deliver her corpse as tribute of my undying loyalty to you, Ame."_

She didn't receive an answer; the release of her throbbing mind was her reward and her confirmation to proceed. Once she had righted herself after the unsettling interview, the assassin known as Gray gave the crimson moon one last appreciative glance. An anticipatory smile split her lips, revealing ivory fangs.

_Tonight truly is a __**perfect**__ night._

Night had fallen, but trapped as she was in a resurgence of her memories, Integra Hellsing was having difficulty waking up.

Feeling uncharacteristically claustrophobic in her coffin, the silvery blond draculina shifted in agitation as her mind supplied her with a replay of the "lesson" she had been subjected to earlier that afternoon.

_"If I do not sedate you, your subconscious will force you into a state of panic as a lower your human barriers."_

Yumi's voice, as light and pleasant as ever, rang out clearly through the foggy myriad of regurgitated sensations and thoughts that had run rampant through Integra's mind as the process began.

_Shut up…_

Everything had been so _loud_ all of a sudden…when had all of God's creatures made an agreement to scream their names at her, all at the same time?

_I can't hear __**anything**__, there's so much everything going on…_

Incoherent, she had tried to make sense of all the mental noise…to somehow distinguish even one of the sentient presences that had forced their ways into her mind's eye.

_Everything is so alive…I feel so small and naked…_

If she could see them, they could see her, right? Miserably, she remembered concluding that the sedative wasn't doing its job very well; her crazed attempts at structured thoughts were sure signs of panic.

_Who are you? What are you? Stop looking at me! __**Shut up!**_

But then, Integra Hellsing had made sense of one of those many blights of life that Yumi had forced her to be aware of.

_Something familiar…something dreadfully memorable…_

Like a rabbit catching the distinctive scent of a fox, her mind had frozen before concocting memories relating back to this entity. Spanning all the way back to a childhood encounter in the basement of her father's mansion that would change her life forever, the common factor in all of these memories could only be…

"Vampire!"

Even waking up with that word sticking to her tongue like the remnants of a bad dream held reminiscent significance for Integra. The last time she had woken, practically screaming the name in her youthful terror, Alucard had been at her side almost immediately. This time, however…

There was someone sitting on the side of her coffin, but it certainly wasn't Alucard.

"Guilty as charged, dearie," purred the drably-clad woman. "I'm a vampire, through and through."

Before Integra could open her mouth to demand who the _hell_ this catty intruder thought she was, a gloved hand clamped down on her jaw with bone-crushing pressure.

"So sorry for the inconvenience," the intruder continued in a matter-of-fact whisper. "I never meant to catch you awake, and now you're left with unanswered questions. I know _I_ hate being left in the dark, but if it helps, you won't be around to wonder for long."

She was right, Integra realized as her vision started to fade. Despite the overall slenderness of her figure, this draculina was terrifyingly strong. Trapped in the confining walls of her coffin, there was no hope of wriggling out of whatever sort of grip she had been trapped in, and the vice-like fingers crushed against her mouth made it impossible to call for help. If this girl was an assassin, she was in the perfect position to do her work well.

_But what sort of assassination could be performed on a vampire…?_

Integra's numbed but clinging question was answered almost immediately as, with her free hand, the assassin pulled out a fistful of long and lethal-looking needles. They shone dully in the red moonlight, and Integra didn't need the sudden chill in her veins or the sick clawing at her stomach to realize what her experience in a past life had long since taught her:

These needles had been blessed with holy silver. They meant death to even the strongest vampire.


	10. Resurgance

**I added a few tidbits to this chapter, but for the most part, it's the same. Hope you enjoy it.~**

_I am going to die._

In her many years sworn under the ongoing mission of the Hellsing Corporation, Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing had only experienced this thought once before. Ordinarily, this would be considered a bit strange, considering the working conditions such a contract entailed, but it was only the truth. She had faced death, and the hellish creatures that dared to desecrate it, a thousand times over…but never once had she considered her own life was at risk until the day she had taken a knife to her own breast in final defiance of a rather malicious draculina who had infiltrated her innermost defenses.

However, in any dangerous situation before that, the idea of her death had been a laughable one. Mockingly, she would spit in the faces of her enemies even as they surrounded her with a staggering advantage and a ridiculous amount of ego, knowing that within moments they would be reduced to mounds of rubble and corpses. And really, this was considering her servant and salvation was having a bad day. If not, it could even take a few seconds.

_But things have changed, haven't they? It's some damned and twisted sense of irony that one of the few times I take mortality at face value would occur after I've become immortal._

Then, as she saw her fate rise above her head in shining, slender tips held by a strange draculina, Integra had another thought that plunged deeper into her heart than any blade or needle could.

_Lately, you haven't been at my side. Could it be that only your oath of servitude ever kept you there in the first place?_

She closed her eyes against the pain that thought caused, against the chill in the vampire's eyes as she prepared to smash the glistening metal into her heart.

_Were you only here because you had to be?_

"Goodbye, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing."

Those final words, a whispered dose of spite from her would-be assassin, snapped something inside of Integra. _Sir_ Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. Vampire or not, she was a knight of England. Since she had been old enough to speak, this had been her dream: to serve queen and country, just like Father. Even when she had learned of the Hellsing family's more secretive and unnatural calling, her priorities and morals, the very principals that structured her lifestyle, had been centered around the knight's code of honor and duty. The queen, the church, and her family's ancient duty…they had not simply been erased because she had joined the ranks of the undead!

In fact, here was even more evidence of a new-found threat against the crown; what was she thinking, laying herself down to die under some illusion of powerlessness? Pathetic. If anything, with her new abilities and prowess, she should be fighting all the harder to protect Her Majesty and the sanctity of the church against such blasphemous defilers as these.

Integra's eyes shot open, glowing red in the power of her conviction.

_Damn it, I am __**not**__ going to die here!_

This was also the second time that Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing had repealed her original acceptance of death.

So it was that, as she prepared to execute a nearly flawless assassination, the intrusive draculina was caught very suddenly by surprise as her would-be victim bent her body in a practically perfect one hundred and eighty degree arc so that she could kick her square in the face.

"Umph!" Stifling a grunt of shock and pain, the assassin tumbled off the coffin's side quite ungracefully, dashing a trickle of blood away from her right nostril. Crouching into a fighting position, she surveyed her opponent with a new-found wariness.

_Amazing. So much power and precision in a single blow. I can't allow myself to forget that she has military background, and I certainly can't let this get out of hand._

Unconsciously, a feral grin parted her throbbing lips. At least this wouldn't be as dull an assignment as she had originally feared.

Meanwhile, Integra made a quick escape from the confining wooden walls of her coffin. For a split second, she considered calling for help. After all, she had no idea as to the scope of her attacker's strength and abilities. To charge blindly into such a situation after nearly being killed once a horrendously idiotic choice of action. The best option was, of course, to summon Alucard and Seras as backup…

_No._

And, for the first time in her lucid life, Integra Hellsing acted on impulse. Seeing her enemy recovering from her initial defense, she switched to a rush attack in order to throw her off-guard again. She charged without hesitation, allowing her new instincts to take over as she lashed out with staggering blows to the intruder's sides and, when she tried to compensate against such a vicious onslaught, a deceptive strike to the throat.

"Consider that a fair repayment," she ground out between slick fangs as the draculina reeled back, clutching at her throat. "As you practically crushed my windpipe."

"Blood calls to blood," the assassin rasped, pulling her hand away as the skin around her gaping throat healed at an alarming rate. "And I wasn't supposed to spill any of yours. However…" She held out her hands, and two slender blades materialized from the shadows. "I'm sure that my boss wouldn't be too put out, considering circumstances have changed."

Then, before Integra could blink, the slip of a draculina was moving. Despite her superhuman senses and quickened reactions, it was all she could do to move so that the damage to her torso was less like obliteration and more like a mortal laceration.

"D-damn you…" she gasped, but to her amazement, her body began to move on its own as the predatory instincts of a vampire took over where her mind had left off. In her determination to deal an appropriate amount of damage, the assassin had made the mistake of ending her rush in the corner of the room.

Whirling to cut off any chance of escape from this self-inflicted trap, Integra viciously pinned the girl's right hand to the wall with elongated, claw-like nails. Then, grinning madly as her prey concentrated all effort on freeing herself without shrieking in pain, she picked up the fallen blade and laid its lethally endowed edge against her neck.

"This," she hissed. "Is why you do not toy with a knight of England."

Disconcertingly, the would-be assassin didn't even flinch. Instead, she leaned forward, straining against the talons so painfully embedded into her wrist, to whisper into Integra's ear, "I never came to toy, merely to kill. I'll return your advice with a tidbit of my own, dear. _This_ is why you should eat your breakfast every morning."

She pulled away slightly until her face was level with Integra's, and proceeded to breathe out snake-like tendrils of crimson gas.

Integra never even had time to hold her breath; the fumes flooded her system in an onslaught of hunger enough to drive any bloodsucker mad. Gasping, she staggered back a step, wrenching her claws from the draculina's wrist.

"Ow," her attacker crooned, stooping to pick up the blade that had once again clattered to the floor. "This is making more noise than I hoped for. You know, you really should start every day with a healthy breakfast. This rule applies to we bloodsuckers as surely as it does the ones we…suck blood from. My Bloody Memoir is a good reminder as to why you should drown your pathetic human sentiment in frequent doses of blood, Integra. Now, die."

She brought the blades down, but Integra threw her arm up to catch the blow. The holy silver burned against her skin, and she felt its poisoned effects spreading up her arm, but that didn't matter. She could still speak, and there was something she needed to say.

"…Alucard," she retched, past convulsions of hunger and pain. The assassin stopped dead.

"What?"

_I can't do this alone…I thought I could, but I still…I still need you by my side._

Somehow empowered by her own admission of weakness, Integra threw back her head and shouted in a manner rather reminiscent of a not-so-distant past, "ALUCAAAAARD!"

There was not even a moment's hesitation; merely a sudden darkening in the room as an impossibly deep and velvety voice uttered a single sentence.

"I am already here, Integra."

Relief.

_Joy._

Suddenly, despite everything, Integra felt a sort of peace steal over her.

"Of course you are," she managed. "That doesn't excuse you for not being here in the first place."

All around the now-black room, crimson eyes opened.

"My most sincere apologies. Shall I make up for my failure by completely destroying this pathetic waste of an existence?" Integra noted the draculina's sudden blanch.

"No," she responded thoughtfully. "She came to my bedside after visiting hours; I'd like to know what gives her the right to act so familiarly. But, by all means, punish her." A manic chuckle rumbled all around her.

"Excellent. I've missed your orders…my master."

Then, everything went black, and only the eventual screams of the would-be assassin interrupted Alucard's cloak by alerting Seras and Yumi of the situation.

Rushed footsteps and frantic voices preceded the other two draculina, and their sudden appearance on the scene distracted Alucard enough to allow the lights of the room to pierce through the artificial night he had created. Through hazy eyes, Integra watched as the chirrupy police girl and the serene ancient one stared in shock at the battered mess that had once posed a threat to her life. After a mere second of stunned silence, they both started shouting. At who or about what, she wasn't entirely sure. Her throat was burning, and her vision turning red at the edges. Blood…she needed…

"Integra."

That familiar voice and shadow that seemed to envelope her as Alucard knelt by her side almost overpowered the unnatural surge of hunger, but the scent and proximity of his throat only seemed to reverse the effect. Gasping, she curled her hands into unsteady fists, realizing too late that her fingernails were still practically claws. Her own blood dripped to the floor as she sternly told herself not to lose this battle of consciousness.

_I'll be damned if I pass out again. Sleeping is obviously bad for my health._

"Integra." Alucard was still trying to speak to her. Was there…worry in his voice? "What happened? What did she do to you?"

"She…I…" Integra mentally cursed herself as the ache in her throat choked off her words unrelentingly. Instead of continuing this fruitless effort, she forced her head up, trying to meet his eyes as her hand unconsciously wrapped around her own throat.

Understanding sparked in Alucard's eyes, along with something else she couldn't gather the coherence to decipher. Suddenly, he was drawing her close, shrugging off the gaudy red coat he was always so attached to.

"So," his baritone voice resonated across her skin amidst the shadows of his throat. "This is how the Starver takes her prey. A fitting name, indeed, and now I have placed her. Integra…take what you need."

He didn't need to tell her twice; Integra lifted her trembling mouth to his throat without hesitation.

When the first feathery touch of her lips brushed against his skin, Alucard felt a wave of uncharacteristic weakness. However, as her teeth sank hungrily into his throat, he immediately blocked out all inexplicable feelings. It was no simple task; more of these intrusive mysteries seemed to make themselves present with every movement she made; with every draught of blood she took, he became more hyperaware of her presence... her fingers, twisting themselves in the folds of his shirt, her fangs as they pierced his skin in a manner so painful it was intoxicating, and her body, so enticingly slender and shapely, pressed hungrily against his own…

Most maddening of all, however, were her lips; no longer hesitant or soft, they raked wetly against the sensitive skin of his neck with each desperate draught that Integra took. Every minute movement of Integra's lips seemed to bring more euphoric agony than her fangs did, embedded as they were in his flesh.

As she drank and came more to her senses, Integra could only feel intense anger and shame. Both were directed at herself; she had practically forgotten the woman that attacked her. How could she be so weak? Even now, after training with Yumi, and considering the fact that she had been reborn in this new life for over a month. It seemed that, ever since she had agreed to let her former servant turn her into a vampire and make her his very equal, that she had been even more dependent on him, if possible.

_How many more times will he have to save me before I can act on my own? I want to fight for what I always have, but in a way that makes me even stronger than I was before!_

Furious, she clenched her fists, taking bunches of Alucard's shirt along in her wake. Vaguely, she was aware of a hitch in his breathing in response to this action.

_What's with him?_

Curiosity ebbed away with her hunger, and she finally pulled away, wiping her lips and looking down.

"Well," she said, after a moment of silence. "I suppose I owe you both a thanks and an apology, but we both know how horrible I am at delivering either so…"

"I should be apologizing, Integra."

She was so startled by this, and the posture of her fearsome former servant—one of abject, contrite regret—that all she could muster was, "Idiot! How dare you interrupt me?"

He didn't even chuckle. She was beginning to feel alarmed; had she taken too much from him? That was impossible, considering the source…wasn't it?

"I should have stayed by your side," he continued in lieu of her silence. "Actually, for the past few days, the list of things I should have done has grown disgracefully long…my master." He seemed to struggle on the last word, and she couldn't even force herself to berate him for the use of it.

"I should have been the one to train you," Alucard said, a rough edge of…something giving his voice a skin-tingling sense of depth. "Not that old hag…although I won't deny that some of my actions may have provoked her into senseless attempts at commandeering my personal responsibilities…"

"Alucard," Integra said slowly. "Is this your idea of an apology?"

He made no answer, but returned her gaze with a look that seemed to be searching for some sort of answer. Discomfited, she forced her signature bark of laughter.

"I think it should be quite clear, then, that contrition and repentance hold no strong sway in either of our lives. Now then…" She stood. "Where's that bloody bitch that practically killed me twice?"

Mistake. The room spun around her at an alarming rate, but Alucard was immediately behind her.

"I believe," he chuckled. "She is the one suffering the irritation of the Old One now. You'll find them in the attic. Allow me to escort you."

Grudgingly, Integra did so, grateful for the chance to mull over the past hour's events. Was there any such thing as peace and quiet in the life of a bloodsucker? Things had been moving so quickly…

She glanced up at Alucard. He seemed normal now, but despite her absorption with ending the agony of her hunger, she had noted a difference in his composure while she drank his blood. Perhaps it had been nothing…

But, as Alucard's supporting hand slipped from her mid-waist down to the higher curve of her hip, the answering thrill that raced up her spine informed Integra that _nothing_ was nothing anymore.


	11. Memories Refreshed

**In which we learn that Alucard is quite bad at breaking the ice. Nothing much is new in this one.~**

"Thank God, Sir! I'm glad to see you're alright!"

Seras, chipper and endearing as ever, was the first to greet Integra as she approached the attic ladder. Having regained her strength on the way there, Integra could now walk easily without Alucard's support, though he never once strayed more than a few feet from her side.

Such a constant proximity made her feel invincible.

"I appreciate the concern, Seras," she replied, sparing a smile for the pixie-like draculina. "But I'm perfectly fine." Behind her, Alucard took a step closer. Unexpectedly, and certainly without her permission, her right hip tingled with the memory of his surreptitious yet deliberate touch. Why did she catch herself almost wishing she still needed his supporting arm?

Integra shook her head. The Bloody Memoir and its stimulating effects were fuddling her head, and she did not like it.

"Where is our guest?" she almost demanded of the young vampire, who seemed understandably confused by her sudden shift in mood.

"Please Sir…Ms. Yumi's up there with her right now. In the attic, that is. She said she would prefer that you avoid disturbing her…"

"Like hell we will."

Sweeping forward with this blunt interjection, Alucard towered over a now quite nervous Seras Victoria.

"Police Girl," he purred with a toothy grin. "Kindly go and inform Ms. Yumi to prepare for the disturbance of a lifetime—and considering how mind-bogglingly ancient she is, that's certainly saying something—if she doesn't sit you down to keep an eye on that pathetic reprobate so I can have a little chat with her."

Bug-eyed as she stared up at him, Seras dared to query, "Um…can it wait? She seemed pretty serious about it…why do you need to talk to her now?"

While Alucard's grin remained fixed, something akin to the angriest fires of Hell seemed to kindle in his molten eyes.

"Because," he responded smoothly. "I am not happy with her right now. _Go_."

Seras jumped back, skittering like a kitten facing its reprimanding mother. "Y-y-yes, Master!" she yelped before bowing and scurrying up the rickety wooden stairwell.

"Tch." Alucard turned away from the attic entrance, and a quick glance at his face was enough to belie his previous understatement. The very air around the vampire lord seemed to quiver in accordance with his anger; Integra couldn't remember the last time she had seen him this riled up.

"It's the hag's fault as well!" he growled, not really addressing anyone in particular. "That ridiculous 'training exercise' was what gave the waste of an assassin our location. Such damnable idiocy…"

"Alucard," Integra cut in. The room around them seemed to be darkening, and she wished to avoid total destruction of the cottage, if at all possible. They were paying rent, after all.

"Hm?" Had he only just remembered that she was there? Annoyance creased her brow.

"I'll be the one interrogating my attacker," she stated. "Don't even bother trying to change my mind; I know you'll just make a bloody mess of it if I leave this to you."

Ivory flashed in the dim light of the room as her charge grinned manically.

"You mean that literally, I hope? Very well, Integra; I assumed you would make such a request. _You're_ no damned idiot."

Integra bit back a smile of her own, but merely shrugged imperiously.

"Do I look like one?"

"No."

His response caught her slightly off guard; the question had been blatantly rhetorical and sarcastic, after all. Turning, she was even further startled to find him gazing at her intently.

"I've already told you what you look like to me," Alucard continued, the intensity of his voice matching that of his eyes.

_"You are flawlessly beautiful, Integra."_

His words from the night Yumi had first arrived rang clearly in her mind, freezing her in place yet again. Caught like a mouse in the serpent's glare, she could only stare back at him as he approached her. Attempting to master control of her own body again, she managed a fumbling step backwards; a shock spread through her body as her back collided with the wall. Alucard halted as well, the same unreadable expression shifting through his eyes as before.

_What is this?_

But, just as quickly as that question sprang up, another memory rose to blot it out. Something she had forgotten, in all the confusion and emotional turmoil following her first true feeding…

_Alucard…__**kissed**__ me?!_

Shouldn't the mere thought of such discretion enrage her? She was beginning to understand just how dead and gone the old Integra—the human Integra—truly was.

_Is he going to…?_

Her throat went dry, and not particularly from hunger. Alucard moved again, stepping in until she could feel the faintest evidence of his breath on her cheek. However, something new had intercepted the previous mystery in his stare. This was something more familiar…more devious.

"Do you remember what it sounded like, Integra?" the vampire lord purred, brushing her throat with the very tips of his fingers. "The sound of a vampire gorging himself on every drop of your human blood?" The tiniest hint of a growl in his voice—along with the nature of what he was saying—only caused her blood to race faster.

"They say," Alucard continued, the primal rumble becoming more prevalent in his bass tone. "That while one is being drained dry by a bloodsucker, in those last fleeting moments of humanity before damnation, truth is found." He leaned in suddenly, and any coherent response she had been mustering before was stolen away as his tongue slid sinuously from her collarbone to the base of her jaw. "Are we not both seeking certain truth?" he queried. "I want answers to so many things right now. You must understand how tempted I am to…coax your memories to the surface. Let me help you remember, Integra." This time, the tips of his fangs were against her throat, and she somehow knew that he meant to take more than a rational amount. Caught up in the awareness of his overwhelming presence, rippling with power and hunger, she felt like some sort of prey. Then, as the fingers of his other hand sidled themselves almost teasingly beneath the tail of her suit jacket and around the hem of her shirt, she realized something.

_He's taunting me._

Lucidity returned immediately, spurned onward by a flash of prideful anger.

_**Again.**_

_Smack!_

The back of her wrist cut across the right side of his face in a stinging blow, driving a bout of raucous laughter from his lips that rang with insanity. Rearing back to tower over her with his imposing height of two meters, he continued to chuckle.

"Excellent," he finally uttered, before relapsing into his infuriating hilarity.

"Idiot! Do not test me now!" She was practically seething with indignation, trying to collect her scattered shards of English pride. Often in days now past, he would taunt her with memories of war; she had always been so embarrassed to have once shared in his bloodlust and practical loss of control when faced with the glory of battle. Time and again, she would lose sight of herself, and Alucard always found it amusing to remind her later on. Of course, she knew the reason behind this was his desire to keep her in such a mindset that he could relate to her; such secret empathy had kept their bond of a master and servant strong.

_A shared passion ensures certain victory._

Was this his attempt at instilling some new form of passion? It took a bit of self-control to convince herself that she wasn't in the mood for that type of game right now.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Yumi's voice, feather-light and musical, cut through the mixture of various tensions that had so competitively thickened the air. Not even sparing her antagonist a disparaging glance, Integra moved to respond.

"Of course you weren't, Yu—" Before she could finish her sentence or draw a breath to follow, Alucard was moving; he had the ancient draculina pinned up against the opposite wall in the flash of a second, tendrils of darkness and crimson curling around his body as he spoke in a contrastingly calm and level voice.

"What were you thinking, crone? I allowed you to commence Integra's training because I anticipated you would fail regardless, not because you held any sort of valid accusation against me. I didn't anticipate that you would put her life at risk; I'll admit my expectations were greater than that."

Without so much as flinching, Yumi replied, "I do regret my lack of foresight, Alucard. I was unaware that any beyond myself or my sister possessed such keen mental abilities. I hadn't predicted that Ame would be able to pass on such a skill."

"Well, well. It seems we've both made an error in foresight." The extra limbs of writhing shadow began to entwine themselves around the old one's throat, and Integra began to understand the necessity of intervention.

Sweeping forward, she interjected, "Shut up, Alucard. The choice was mine, and I wouldn't have made it if you hadn't been acting the part of the manipulative bastard. We've all apologized now, in our own way, so let's put the matter behind us. In a sense, this could be easily worked to our advantage."

Subdued, Alucard released Yumi and allowed the room to brighten once more. Coughing slightly, Yumi said, "If you're hoping to entice some form of allegiance from that draculina upstairs, don't waste your breath. From what I can tell, she is intensely loyal to Ame; I am certain she's bound by blood, but that woman is no powerless slave. If she wanted her freedom, she would have found a way to make such an arrangement."

"Pardon me," Integra stated coolly. "But I'll be the one to decide how to spend my breath and time. Now, let me see her."

"My, my. What an unexpected pleasure, Miss Hellsing. Am I to understand now that you've got some bark to match your bite?"

These words, crooned in such a manner that was obviously meant to instigate a thoughtlessly angry response, were conventionally the type that Integra wouldn't deign to consign even a sliver of attention to. However, the rules of this game were somewhat different than those of a traditional interrogation; no bloodsucker worth its salt would succumb to scare tactics. She would have to grant this keen-eyed vampire some home-court privileges.

"That's 'Sir' Hellsing, if you don't mind, vampire." Integra's glasses caught the glare of the hurricane lamp, masking her eyes flawlessly.

"Still clinging to your old title of honor? How twelfth century. Tell me, is that nostalgia I hear? Or some misplaced form of patriotism?"

Frowning, Integra looked down at her attacker. While chained to a desk in a decently-lit room, she seemed even more of an unlikely assassin than before. Graced with such elegantly defined, appealing features and a ridiculously slender frame, she fit the part of a foreign model far better than that of a trained killer. Like Alucard, she didn't bother masking the vampiric nature of her eyes; the thick, feathery array of treated lashes that so generously enveloped their glowing violet depths made it clear that she could charm any meal her way with the bat of an eye. In fact, despite the sparse endowment of her figure, this female seemed even to Integra to be quite alluring; there were some individuals whose aura just screamed _natural flirt._

_Remind you of anyone you know?_

Refusing to look back at Alucard, Integra took her glasses off and sat before the prisoner.

"Your accent betrays you," she said, ignoring the girl's jibe. "American, I take it? Did you expect I'd allow myself to be taken down by some pretty tourist?"

Her charge responded with a charming smile. "Aww, you think I'm pretty? Thanks, Dearie. Oh, and I'm a bounty hunter, not a tourist. Please. I've been to too many places, too many times, to fall under any sort of generalization."

A bounty hunter? That didn't support what Yumi had warned her about earlier, concerning loyalty.

"Lord, that's even worse," Integra sneered. "I'd prefer to die at the hand of a tourist. So, you're on Ame's payroll? The offer must have been pretty hefty to lure you out from your cushy American lair. I doubt you were just conveniently nearby; we made certain that there could be no convenience here, Miss…?"

"Gray," the draculina conceded, tucking a perfectly treated ringlet of auburn hair behind her ear. Integra rolled her eyes. A bounty hunter with heavy makeup and glamorous hair? This Starver wasn't living up to much of a reputation, as far as she was concerned.

"Serena Gray," she was quick to follow up. "Oh, and I have a passport. This trip certainly wasn't convenient for me. If you would, Mr. Alucard?" She turned her gaze to the vampire lord standing stolidly behind Integra.

Losing a bit of grip on her patience, Integra asked, "Do you think I would be incapable of reading it, Miss Gray? How about I just take it off your hands?"

Serena's lips pushed outward in an expressive pout. "I'm afraid I couldn't allow that. Shackled or not, I can still bite if you harass me. You see, it's not in my hands…" Her heavily-lidded violet gaze turned once again to Alucard. "It's in my breast pocket," she added in a breathier tone.

"Ha." Alucard responded before Integra had the chance to. "I don't like redheads." Talons of dark energy snaked up from the floor and plucked a pamphlet from her shirt before anyone could react, stopping only to drop it on the table before dispersing into thin air.

"Ohhh," Serena breathed. "How interesting. It seems the renowned vampire lord certainly has an _exciting_ set of skills."

Integra felt a vein in her temple twitch as she forced herself to look down at the newly opened document.

"'Seth Graham'," she read out loud, comparing the striking draculina in front of her to the pale, delicately-faced boy in the picture. "A masculine alias," she remarked. "In the barest sense of the word. I see what you mean by 'certainly not convenient'."

Serena shrugged and placed a hand on her chest. "What can I say? I'm flat-chested on the dressiest occasion; a few strips of bandage and a different approach with some makeup and hairstyles are a small price to pay for the severing of a gender connection to the well-known Starver. Of course, it is a bit of a pain, but one I often to go while I'm on a job. The only difference is, those other clients pay me." She heaved a dramatic sigh. "Can you believe it? All this work, and I don't get a cent from that stuffy old bitch."

Integra seized her complaint with a sense of accomplishment. "So you are blood-bound to Ame!"

To her surprise, the Starver's conventionally crafty gaze softened slightly. "Not exactly," she murmured. "But I guess you could put it that way." A wry smile tugged at her lips. "Let's just say, I've little to no choice in the matter. Honestly, I would never have staked you out as a prize if I had one. You're a respectable opponent, dearie, not some bounty fodder."

"I'm flattered," Integra remarked sardonically. "Is that why you're talking to me, but offered a stiff lip to Yumi?"

"Who, Granny? I prefer a chat with a sister in passionate blood, not some senile old lady. Besides, she reminds me a tad too much of her sister. I had to hear all about her when Ame was in a bad mood." Serena rolled her eyes. "I'm sick of the _name_ Yumi, let alone the person."

Ignoring Alucard's approving chuckle behind her, Integra leaned forward. "I'll take that. Would you be less opposed to bartering with such a sister then, vampire?"

Her answer was a delighted peal of laughter and a musical jingle as the draculina leaned back and clapped her shackled hands.

"Oh, she tries to claim rights to my compliment while maintaining a sense of denial. I _love_ it! Listen, sweetie: normally, I couldn't pass up any sort of business offer from such an appealing party like you and your brooding _giant_ of an excuse for eye candy over there. I'm afraid, however, that no one on this planet could possibly have the price I require for this situation."

Integra's eyes narrowed. "Name it anyway," she suggested.

"What's the point? Consider it a bit close to the chest…close enough, even, that I wouldn't want your dashing Dracula groping around with his scary tentacles. I'd rather not tell you if you can't deliver, and trust me…you can't."

As her ever-thinning rope of patience finally snapped, Integra stood to her feet and slammed her palms down on the small table.

_"Try me."_ Grateful that such a forceful display had her prisoner's full attention, Integra stared into the foreign eyes of the woman who had tried to take her life not two hours ago. In that look, she tried to engrain her absolute sense of ambition, and the realization she herself had only just made that, no matter what the cost, she had to defeat Ame. Even before crown and country, this surging sense of lethal competition claimed an absolute and primal dominance. Ame wanted two things she, Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, would not give up: her life, and her lifelong companion.

Eventually, Serena's gaze faltered and dropped. "Very well," she said quietly. "Somehow, I know that you can't be wrong." Steepling her fingers, she paused for a moment as if to prepare for an unpleasant recollection.

"I'm like you, Integra," she began. "Born human, not long enough ago to be an all-powerful vampire lord. Unlike you, I suspect, my conversion was not a voluntary one." Her brow tightened, a sign of pain. "He was the last of his family, a dying pureblood line. He seduced me easily, drawing me in with promises of love and wealth. He took me so viciously; I'll never forget the night my humanity died. With it died whatever intoxication with him I had...but, as years turned into decades, my hatred of him softened into empathy. We are eternal creatures, and while I was bound to him by blood, the only avenue out of loneliness I could see lay with him…" She paused and uttered a short, bitter laugh. "Whoopsies. Sorry to bore you with my fondness for nostalgia. Anyway, to cut a long story blissfully short, on the day my master was finally about to free me, he was killed and devoured by that witch, Ame."

"I see," Yumi mused. "Ame's power lies in her utter absorption of every aspect her victim possesses. It's how I am never able to take advantage of her weaknesses; they are constantly shifting." Stepping forward into the lamplight, she looked Serena in the eye and said, "Actually, we have exactly what you need."

"You do?" Serena asked.

"We do?" Integra echoed blankly.

Yumi nodded. "Before I realized that my sister's constitution morphed with each meal she took, I was endeavoring to…relieve her of some blood so I could experiment and find the best way to defeat her." Smiling slightly, she pulled her hair away from her neck to reveal a vicious scar. Wrinkled and brown despite the near-miraculous healing powers of a dominant vampire, it wrapped around the back of her neck and traveled downwards before disappearing beneath the neckline of her dress. Amidst the flawless pale skin, the scar seemed to scream out its existence in a barbaric tone.

"I got what I needed, along with a declaration of permanent enmity between us. This scar represents my last battle with my younger sister. I believe I won…she was the only one who had to sleep for a few centuries while her body healed. Still, our family history is irrelevant in this matter. What isn't, however, is the fact that I saw you that day, Serena."

"You did?"

Yumi's violet eyes softened in sympathy. "Yes. You were her newest charge. I felt horrible for you; you were a mess. I have often regretted not being able to take you with me when I escaped, but I was practically dead myself. Still, given that time frame, I'm almost positive that the blood I took from Ame is that which absorbed your master's blood. This blood…" She withdrew an ampule from the folds of her sleeves. "Will free you."

Shocked and slightly empowered by this unexpected turn of events, Integra turned back to Serena to find the would-be assassin smiling in a way that would befit Alucard.

"What an interesting turn of the tide," she mused. "So, what'll it be, _Sir_ Hellsing? My freedom for my allegiance?"

"Hardly," Integra replied. "This cottage has got more than enough vampires running around inside. No, I merely desire your information and an oath to silence."

Serena Gray, the Starver, let out a peal of laughter.

"Excellent," came her reply, with a wink. "I'm too naughty and fickle to pledge my allegiance to anyone."


	12. Stringent Strategies

**Hellooooo my dears! I am still updating, but will hopefully have an entirely new chapter up by midnight tonight. As for edits on this chapter, I **_**think**_** that the only thing I did was change the word "nonconventional" to "unconventional". And for good reason. Seriously, "nonconventional" isn't correct. I am ashamed (seethed the Grammar Nazi). Enjoy!**

"Look, I know how gung-ho you Brits are about your tea parties, but isn't this just a _tad_ unconventional, considering the hour of day?"

Although Serena's question earned a crushing glare from Integra, it certainly wasn't baseless. At this point in the group's diplomacies, the grandfather clock that lorded over the cozy sitting room declared it to be around three o'clock in the morning.

"Of course not," Yumi cut in pleasantly. "As my grandmother always used to say, there's ne'er an hour too late or too early when it comes to a respectable pot of tea."

"Whoa," Serena replied in exaggerated awe. "I can't imagine someone as old as you remembering her _parents_, let alone some toothless old bag's tasteless ditties about tea. But, to Hell with this; I'll take blood over tea any day." She looked around expectantly. "I don't suppose this cute little hut has a basement? Somewhere that one stores the livelier snacks…?"

_Crunch._

All eyes were drawn to Seras, who had casually rested a gloved hand on Serena's wrist with enough pressure to shatter the bone.

"You're being pretty rude, you know," the youngest draculina said, the familiar sweet innocence of her voice tinged with a hint of malice. "Considering my master left you in such a shape fit to heal yourself on your own, you ought to be a bit more grateful."

Integra swallowed a taste of apprehension as their newest visitor managed an apology through gritted teeth and twisted her injured digit to set the bones back in place. Just there, Seras had appeared remotely…Yumi-esque.

What an unpleasant premonition.

Alucard, of course, found the entire scene to be completely amusing; she could feel his deep-toned chuckles vibrating through the fabric of the couch they shared.

The _small_ couch, she amended irritably, shooting another glare at the crafty-eyed guest. What sort of manners had she been raised on, anyway? Was it necessary for her to drape that sparse frame across an _entire_ couch? _This_ was practically a loveseat.

"Seras has a point, Serena," Yumi was saying, with a smile in the former's direction. "You could stand to be a bit more polite; however, considering the rather malicious welcome Alucard gave you when you first arrived, I can understand how an overhaul healing process like the one that followed would leave you hungry." The smooth surface of the coffee table hissed slightly as a standard blood packet slid across its entirety before being intercepted by a set of tastefully manicured fingers.

"Well, aren't you accommodating now?" Serena purred, popping open the packet and pouring its crimson contents into her teacup. "Cheers."

Yumi nodded. "In reference to your attempted insult, I certainly forgot how to cling to memories as obsolete and distant as those of my biological grandmother; she died when I was a child even by human standards. Still, there was one old woman who cared for my horrendously substantial injuries that were earned after my last fight with Ame." A nostalgic smile lit up her violet eyes. "I guess you could say I adopted her," she stated simply.

Serena sighed dramatically. "I try to avoid the habit of keeping humans as pets; they're disappointingly fragile, my dear, and they never last long enough. Even if I went to the lengths of keeping my favorites around forever, that would simply mean more maintenance and the possibility of everything going horribly wrong."

"Oh, I don't know." Integra started as Alucard interjected from her side.

"Sometimes the effort is worth it," the vampire lord stated, his fathomless eyes drifting from the perky blond Police Girl to the queenly draculina beside him.

Integra bit back a retort that would have been frail at best under such a dominative gaze, but Serena threw her head back and laughed.

"Oh, no!" she answered. "I said pet, not mate."

Integra almost choked on her tea. "That again?" she sputtered. "You vampires really are _quite_ ridiculous. This is only the _third_ time it's been assumed that we—" Her protests died rather suddenly as she realized that, as opposed to the last time this issue had arisen, her former servant hadn't moved at all to defend against it. Rather, he continued to look at her, as if to take her measure and discover something he already knew: that she pleased him immensely.

Entirely unsettled, more by the thrill of this look than the small discomfort it caused, Integra moved quickly to regress.

"Regardless, let's continue where we left off. You have information for us, don't you? How long have you been in Ame's service?"

Serena pouted and took a sip of blood. "You're all work and no play, Integra. How does someone like Alucard _manage_?"

"Why you…"

Throwing her hands up in defeat, Serena continued before Integra could manage the rest of her threat.

"Chill out, dearie. I'll tell you all what you want to know; I'll even go a bit farther and divulge to you what you couldn't have dared anticipate." With a wink, she took a final draught from the now-stained china cup in her hands before assuming a more earnest disposition.

"After she killed my…original master, Ame held me in her control for fifty years or so. They were the worst years in my life, and I've already lived plenty to learn how quickly time's limited but busy mortal stream shifts into a vast, ravenous ocean that never seems to end. I've been living this second life for a few centuries at this point, but those fifty years will always be the ones that dragged on in the most tortuous way I could imagine. Fifty years, and I was her personal acolyte. I hated her; not a day went by that I didn't try to kill her in the most painful way possible. Now that I think back on it, this was probably a source of great amusement for her. Without a word, she would watch me try, fail, and fall as the conditions that bound me to her by blood took effect. Only then, as I lay writhing on the floor, would she speak." Serena's voice, which had been flat and factual up till this point, broke only slightly. "Her words were worse than the blood rebelling inside my own veins. I'm certain that you, Integra and Yumi, are both aware that Ame is quite capable of incapacitating a mind weakened by any means with the mere force of her speech."

Integra could only shudder at the memory of the mental link, but Yumi nodded.

"She always had a way with words, but you should both know that my sister was not only speaking to you; Ame has always had the ability to read the louder thoughts of even the strongest mind and use them to her advantage. It is more an attack of mental prowess than of verbal ferocity."

"Whatever," Serena waved the unpleasant memories away nonchalantly. "Basically, she had me under her whip for fifty years, up until the day that Ms. Yumi over here did me the unknowing favor of attacking. When Ame fell to her unexpectedly effective onslaught, I ran without thinking. Looking back was pointless; I promised myself that I would die before going back. Fortunately, Yumi came out of that fight on top…barely, as I later figured out. I got a hundred years or so to myself, during which I made my own name as the Starver." She smiled nostalgically. "Oh, those were the good days. Freedom is the sweetest when you've never had it before. However, two weeks ago, Ame dragged me back into her bitchy little clutches, ranting about how she would 'break vengeance across the entire world' and 'take what she wanted', yada, yada, yada. Then, she proceeded to order me around again." Serena groaned. "Does that answer your question?"

"Quite extensively," Integra replied. "While you were in Ame's service, did you catch any signs of weaknesses? And, what can you tell us about her methods?"

"Oh, that. Well, like Yumi said, Ame's abilities shift with the particular meal she's taken lately." Serena made a face. "Frankly, I always found cannibalism to be a bit distasteful; I'd never feed on a bloodsucker unless I absolutely had to. But yes; Ame is quite fond of devouring some luckless immortal and gaining whatever attributes they had that made them strong. Much like your sexy piece of godliness over there…" She nodded at Alucard with a wink that stung Integra's irritability into a sharper hue.

"Alucard," she stated coldly. "Is not the topic of discussion here."

"Heeheehee," Serena giggled, rubbing her hands together. "Because you're not jealous at _all_. Lovely. But look, sweetcakes; an interrogation at any hour of the morning is distasteful, even if it's poorly disguised as a tea party. I'm going to lay this square for you: instead of telling you where Ame's fortress is, how's about I take you there and get you in? Integra, I was given specific orders to take you in dead, but I'm sure we can fix something up. Alucard and Yumi, you two can work with the entrances I give you, I'm certain."

"Nice try," Integra said, ignoring the sudden twitch of her brow. "But only an idiot would trust a former bounty hunter turned assassin. How about you just give us everything you know? That would include blueprints, charts…anything and everything."

"Aww, but that's far too _boring_, dearie." The slim draculina tossed her auburn mane and leaned forward. "You'll come to trust me, I promise. I wasn't anticipating that you and your loving little gang would be ready to attack any time soon, although I suppose it would be better for you to attack before Ame does."

"That's funny." Seras, not chirrupy in the least at this point, voiced Integra's exact thoughts. "Were you planning on sticking around, Miss? I don't think we invited you."

"In situations like this, the best method of getting the point across is show, not tell."

"Get to the point, bounty hunter." Integra had given up on holding any store of patience; this unsettling woman was stalling, and she wanted a smoke.

"My _point_, Integra, is that the only way for me to reveal Ame's weakness would be to show you everything I know," Serena responded, all traces of coy mischief fading from her violet eyes.

"How is that even relevant to this? You think I care to learn your assassin's bag of tricks?"

"It's completely relevant. You _are_ Ame's weakness, Integra."

Such a response was enough to drive any hope of a retort from Integra's system. Unable to form a comprehensive reply, she merely shut her mouth and made a dive for a supporting gulp of tea, hoping she wouldn't choke in the process.

"See what I mean?" Serena continued upon observing her reaction. "Show, not tell. That being said, I'll take it upon myself to train you. Together, we can prepare to meet Ame face to…"

_"No."_

All eyes swiveled to a sudden captivating and terrifying source as Alucard suddenly stood, towering over every occupant in the room and quelling all the lights with writhing shadows. Glaring down at the willowy-figured bounty hunter, his eyes practically spat fire as he spoke again, his baritone rumble vibrating throughout the small room.

"No one will train Integra but me. _You won't even go near her._"


	13. No Rest for the Needy

** -shakes fists at sickness and exams- OKAY. Hi guys. This is me…late…again. Ack, I'm so behind. My love and thanks to those of you who still stick around and put up with me. :3 Without further ado, here we go. **

"No one will train Integra but me. _You won't even go near her._"

As Alucard's words, spoken in the deepest rumble of a possessive growl, seemed to steal all vestiges of breath from the room, Integra could only wonder numbly why she was the only one with a pulse. It seemed blatantly unfair to her that, while everyone else had been rendered stock-still and silent, her heart that should have been silent was pounding traitorously in her chest at such volume that _everyone_ must surely hear it.

If anything, Serena surely did. Integra could have sworn that the instigative draculina's perceptive gaze, accompanied by a maddeningly crafty smirk, rested on her for a mere moment before flicking to the towering vampire lord.

"Ooh, scary," she purred. "What a sexy display of dominance you are, Mister Blasphemy. But tell me, what would you do if I did?" Alucard didn't answer, but the room darkened considerably, and a few disembodied eyes slit open along the walls. Seras swallowed loud enough to be heard, shrinking away from a glowing iris that had decided to invade her seat. Yumi just sighed.

"Well?" Serena pressed, sitting up and swinging one leg over the other with enviable grace. "What will you do? I've heard _so_ many stories, and I'm _dying_ to see if they're true. Would you shoot me? Tear me limb from limb? Rip my lifeless heart out and crush it until I'm reminded that I even have one? Spin me a tale of how you would paint this cottage with my blood, and fill this glorious night with a raw-throated orchestra of my agony."

Integra rolled her eyes. In baiting Alucard, Serena was starting to sound just like him: melodramatic and long-winded.

"Or," their ambiguous guest finished quietly. "Would you do something like this?"

Nothing could have happened. Integra couldn't even find a millisecond to blink. It was preposterous, even thrown as she was into this havoc of a new, supernatural life, that something could have moved so quickly. And yet, there Serena stood. Beside her. Between _them._ Dominating the space between Alucard and herself with a sparse but deadly frame, the draculina cut a newer and more demanding figure.

The scent of blood rent the air. Alucard was bleeding. That frivolous bitch had just opened a six-inch ragged hole in his side.

Integra silently fumed at the display of blatant stupidity. Surely this smug wisp of a woman could analyze and enact a healthier strategy than this. With a combination of her deliberate jibes and trifling, brazen attacks, she had put the state of their headquarters at risk.

Fortunately, Alucard was more amused than incensed at her display. "You're fast," he commented, engulfing her wrist in one gloved hand. "You're also lucky that I don't feel like playing at this particular moment. Listen well, weakling: those who spawn the stories that you just recounted would call me a demon among monsters. I can assure you that I frighten the Devil himself, and would do worse to you if you laid so much as another _finger_ upon my master. Now, allow me to repeat myself one more time. _You won't even go near her._"

He then tightened his fist, intending, Integra believed, to shatter the offending limb and teach a bit of a lesson regardless of the lack of damage done. However, as much to his shock as everyone else's, Serena had moved again. Fast enough to evade even a vampire's eye, and certainly fast enough to escape Alucard's bullying grip, she extracted her dripping arm with a sickening _squelch_ and laid it on Integra's shoulder. Then, before her monstrous opponent had a chance to react to what had just _not_ happened right under his nose, she slid around to Integra's other side, leaving her arms draped across the former's chest in a fashion too familiar for the acidic knight to tolerate.

"Whoops," she purred, fixing a defiant look on Alucard. Then, she reached in to nip Integra's neck…

_**"BLOODY HELL!"**_

Integra moved without thinking. All she wanted to do was to disentangle herself from this impudent vampire and punish her before Alucard could; it was all she could do to ensure the intact nature of their cottage. If that idiot was getting this worked up about the idea of a mere _finger_, she shuddered to imagine what his response would be to a fang. But this draculina was so unnaturally fast; there wasn't a chance in Hell she was escaping without being pierced by her invasive bite.

Silence reigned, broken only by Integra's accelerated breathing. All eyes were on her, and she realized that her neck was perfectly unscathed. Slowly, she forced her gaze to where Serena stood, embracing thin air with a sly smile just beginning to slide across her face.

"Oh hell _yes_," she crowed. "I _love_ it when I'm right." Standing up straight, she dipped her head apologetically to Integra. "Sorry for invading your space. I needed to prove a point to your hot-headed male. I'm not actually _into_ women, as a food source or otherwise." Integra's only response was a cutting, frigid glare. Unabashed, her harasser turned back to Alucard.

"Did you see how fast she moved? She's faster than _I_ am, and pumpkin, I really am the _fastest_. This unique ability will give her the edge she needs to deploy an attack against Ame that only she and Yumi are capable of. I was simply going to teach her how to utilize it; you can train her in whatever way your black heart desires, beyond that."

Two orbs of red flared in the darkness, followed by the double glint of Alucard's guns. "I'm thrilled to have your permission," his voice echoed from all around them. "And now, _adieu_."

Sir Integra Hellsing had just about seen enough of this.

"_SHUT UP, DAMN IT! __**BOTH**__ OF YOU!"_ Not a single protest was attempted, and she allowed herself a sigh of satisfaction. Instant obedience. Nothing in this world was more desirable.

"Now," she continued in a calmer, albeit icy tone. "I can't see a bloody thing. Alucard, exercise some self-control. I never gave you permission to expose yourself like this. Serena, _piss off._ I can't even _begin_ to elaborate on how sick I've grown of your bloodsuckers' propensity towards _dick badgering._"

Reluctantly, the writhing shadows receded, leaving a sullen Alucard bereft of his staple manic grin. Serena merely whistled.

"Well, damn," she muttered. "Someone's a bit cranky. Don't get your panties in a knot, Integra…or do you British ladies still wear bloomers with those petticoats?"

Maintaining her rather disturbing sense of calm (disturbing to those who actually knew her, at least), Integra pulled her Walther PPK from her inner jacket pocket and pressed it up against the offender's forehead.

"If you don't obey me," she stated. "I'll shoot you myself. These bullets are incendiary, but it would still be saving you the world of hurt my subordinate is itching to inflict upon you. Honestly, of all the individuals in this godforsaken world of undead you'd choose to piss off, I can't imagine a more terrible pick."

Staring cross-eyed down the barrel of the small gun to its more intimidating owner, Serena made a tight-lipped nod.

Thoroughly satisfied for once, Integra turned back, lit a cigar, and allowed a few moments for the calming smoke to make its way through her system.

"Now," she said at last. "Serena, I'll grant your offer some credit. If there is any advantage to be taken over the enemy, it would be idiocy to cast it aside. You and the old lady may continue to teach me what I'll need to know. As for you, Alucard…"

She turned to address him, but her former servant had already made his exit; the only bits of evidence that trailed behind his departure were the tip of his crimson hat dissolving through the wall and his baritone voice stating, "Do as you wish, Integra."

He was gone. Just like that.

Integra bit her lip against an onslaught of indignation and something else that she couldn't name, but found even more frustrating. Who did he think he was, leaving in the middle of a personal briefing?! She hadn't even issued his share in the assignment yet…

Behind her, Serena clucked her tongue. "Temperamental old monster," she chided. "He gets jealous far too easily." When Integra whirled to deliver a scathing glare, the draculina merely arched a sculpted eyebrow. "Well? Aren't you going to follow him? You don't seem the type to stand for insubordination…even in cases of extremely sexy angst, such as this. Off you pop, dearie!"

Not deigning to retort, Integra turned back to the offending wall and strode towards it. This wasn't an obstacle anymore; she was a bloodsucker. Obstacles no longer existed, if she held the will. She had seen Alucard do this plenty of times…

Just as she wrinkled her nose to wince against the expected collision, she felt an odd tingling sensation and continued on through the cobbled stone wall. It could have been air, she passed through it so easily. She was so surprised by this success that she almost stopped…but then decided that such an action was probably unwise. She would have to keep moving.

Integra blinked nervously against the pressing darkness of this between-the-walls space. Where was Alucard? He knew his way around in such style of travel, but this was her first time. What if she got lost? Was that even possible?

Before this irritating prickle of anxiety could grow, Integra's vampiric senses came to her rescue in the form of scent detection. The vampire lord had been here; his smell was unmistakable in the way it smothered her common sense to make way for something much more primal.

_Jealous? Could Serena have possibly been right?_

The thought blared out of nowhere as Integra surged forward, following her nose and that part of her heart that still felt alive. Once again, the memory of what occurred after her first hunt seeped into her forethought. Since that night—no, even before that, from the very moment that she had felt her human life draining from her and begged her former charge to tighten his arms around her, things had been changing. Was it possible that she was not the only one affected by such a turn?

_I've been blind_, she realized on a whim. _I've been a self-centered, cold-hearted bitch. I don't even have the right to be angry at him for walking out; __**I**__ would have left even earlier._

"_But I'm still here, Integra."_

The voice, spoken as it was inside her head, was enough to make her start. Still, part of her had been expecting it; that part was delighted.

"_So, you can get into my head as well? Don't think that pleases me. If you're still here, tell me where. Where are you?"_

She couldn't hear a thing physically, but his mental chuckle was familiar enough to send rivers of warmth through her veins.

"_You're on the right path. Keep walking, __**Master**__,"_Alucard replied. _"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to be angry enough to follow me through a __**wall**__. In contrast, however…__**I am immensely pleased.**__"_

Forcing her feelings to such a response aside, Integra took a few more steps before stepping suddenly through the other side of the wall. In the moment she spared to take in her surroundings, she realized that she was in Alucard's room. Ordinarily, the vampire lord would have drawn the blinds—all three layers of them—in order to shut out any vestiges of light. Tonight, however, the moonlight was flowing through the exposed window panes, and he stood bathed in its light. The cold rays of the night contrasted sharply with his vibrant red coat, but seemed to shine right at home along the glistening locks of his midnight-black hair.

He stood with his back to her; for some reason, Integra was grateful for that. She didn't know how she could have coped with meeting him gaze-on.

"Well, then," she managed finally. "I've found you."

Alucard didn't turn. "Indeed," he said. "Did you consider how rude it is to enter one's personal quarters without knocking?"

Ignoring the ridiculous thrill she had received at the words _personal quarters_, Integra retorted, "Only about as rude as it is to walk away when someone's talking to you. Ingrate! There was once a time when you lived to receive my orders; how _dare_ you walk away from me when I'm issuing them?!" She felt detached as she spoke; these words were only confirming the realization she'd made _moments_ before. Why couldn't she stop being like this?

For some reason, she expected him to respond with that half-crazed explosion of a laugh her attempts at repartee often ignited, but this time, the only thing he did was turn around.

"I still live for your orders, Integra. I merely walked away because I knew you would follow me. I wanted to be alone…with you."

Her breath caught in her throat, and that primal _something_, combined with the recent conflictions of her human-woman remnants, clawed at her conviction to remain proper.

"Nonsense," she weakly attempted to recover. "What could I command you to do that would be different if issued in the presence of others?"

Like a predator finally sensing a weakness in its long-stalked prey, Alucard made use of her hesitation. "Nothing at all, my master. However, the fact would remain that it would be just the two of us."

She couldn't take this much longer. "And? What would the relevance of _that_ be? Why is this suddenly bothering you, Alucard? I demand to know."

Suddenly, he was inches away from her, his fiery crimson gaze burning inescapably into her own. "Why? Because that's the way it always _has_ been. You have always been alone, Integra; you arranged everything so that you would remain that way. _I_ was the only companion you had that could be ravaged neither by time nor by your indomitable and acidic sense of pride and spirit. _You_ revived me, and _you_ alone gave me orders. I was and am a monster, but you were the child that held my leash. At the times when I could have brought Hell upon the devil himself, or ravaged every life in the world with terror and bloodshed, innocent or not, it was _you_ who decided whether I _should_ or not. It has always been the two of us, Integra. You seem to have forgotten that quite easily."

Despite the fact that his nearness was smothering practically every rational thought and feeling, Integra had found her resolve again.

"So you _are_ jealous!" she sneered. "How childish. Does it really bother you that badly to not be the only vampire of status around here anymore? I suppose that Seras never raised your hackles of dominance because she practically worshipped the ground you walked upon. Things have changed, Alucard. _I_ have changed, and you knew I would! Even still, you persist enough to be _jealous._ Admit it! You are!"

_Then_ the manic grin made its appearance.

"I absolutely am," came the reply, in a voice that rang rough with a throaty growl. "But not for the reasons that you would think." He took a step closer, and reached up to brush his fingers against the pinpoint scars that he had left on her neck that first night in the dungeon. For once, his hands were bereft of their white gloves, and she shivered pleasurably at the feeling of skin on skin.

"I have always been your servant," Alucard continued. "And you were always my master. I was yours, and you were mine. Now, however, things have changed. You are mine…my responsibility, that is. I am the catalyst for this new life you have in the night, and thus own you in the sense that I owe you my guidance. But how, Integra, do you own me?" His voice lowered almost imperceptibly. "I am no longer your servant. What else can I be, to remain in your possession? For this reason, yes…I am jealous. _Irresistibly_ jealous." He moved even closer, and Integra felt her back strike the wall yet again in an attempt to back away from him.

"It must have cost you quite a bit of pride to admit this to yourself," she managed. "But what good will pinning me up against a wall do to make up such a loss? One would think you've grown tired of such a sport, considering how much of a habit it's become."

Alucard chuckled, a wild and beast-like sound that set her blood afire. "What indeed?" he mused, placing both hands against the wall on either side of her. "Maybe I want to make you fight your way out of such a cage. Maybe I want you to stain yourself with my blood again." He closed in, baring his throat to her while at the same time cutting off any avenue of escape. "Maybe I want you to acquire a taste for it. Perhaps then, you will once again need me as much as I need you."

Integra swallowed against a painfully dry throat. She had already acquired a taste for his blood; she could smell it beneath the enticingly fragile skin of his throat, and it beckoned to her. She knew that she wanted to strike him savagely…to sink her fangs into his throat and indulge in him, just like he was daring her to do. But there was something she had to address…and this was not the way to do so.

She bit her own lip until blood came, drowning out the desire with a stab of pain, and then managed, "Idiot. I still need you. I have _always_ needed you, and always will."

Her downcast eyes were greeted once again with the silvery light of the moon as the vampire lord drew back, silenced by her grudging confession. When his silence persisted to the point of discomfort, she licked her lips and leveled her gaze with him, forcing aside all unnatural thoughts and feelings to be the Integra he had known her to be…the Integra she always would be, no matter how great the change.

"And if I catch you doubting this fact again, after going to all the trouble of spelling it out for you," she continued. "I'll make you wish you hadn't."

She expected a laugh. She _hoped_ for a laugh. But instead, Alucard looked at her. He looked at her until it became apparent that he was attempting to restrain himself. Finally, however, he gave in. Before she could make a move to question his intentions, he stepped forward and roughly drew her to him. The moonlight was blotted out again as her face was crushed against his chest, and she felt his chin dip below the curve of her shoulder to meld his neck with hers.

She couldn't move or speak. The only thought that rang through Integra Hellsing's mind was that the lord of all vampires was, in fact, _hugging_ her.

"Integra," Alucard's voice wafted against her skin. "Thank you."

Then, as soon as he had stepped in, the mighty vampire had pulled away. Grinning in his signature style, he dropped to one knee, bowing before her as he had of old.

"I have my orders, then, Sir Integra," he rumbled. "You'll never catch a wind of my doubts again."

She blinked. Righted herself. If _this_ was going to be how things would be from now on…

Surprisingly, she felt a crazed smile twitching at her on lips. Hell, she'd just stop worrying about it. Apparently, obstacles _did_ still exist in the life of an undead vampire…but she had just cleared the one of greatest importance. Everything after this, even the conquest against their new and formidable opponent, would be child's play. She and Alucard were together again; nothing could stand against them.

"Excellent," she said, glasses glinting in the welcome moonlight. "Now, I'm going for a smoke. You'd better be back in the briefing room when I return, you damned idiot."

"As you wish, my master." Darkness ensconced the vampire lord, and the last thing to disappear was his gleaming, toothy smile.

**Whew. FINALLY. I really am sorry for all these breaks in my writing. I had a pretty nasty viral infection that laid me up for a few weeks, actually. But, I'm 100% now; it won't happen again. Hope you all enjoyed this, and I promise to those of you that might be wondering, you'll get a taste of the action on Ame's side in the next chapter. Yeah, just a bit of a teaser there. I felt the need to sort out some stuff over here, but the flow is back on track, I promise. Thanks for hanging in there! You're all wonderful. :D**


	14. Drastic Action

**Okay. This is the chapter I added a lot to…and honestly, it gets a bit hot and heavy (for me, at least –blush-). So, uh, if this should be rated M…someone should be a doll and let me know. ;) Many thanks.~**

Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing had taken her first lesson in armed combat at the tender age of twelve years. Her own father had been the attentive teacher; Sir Hellsing the elder had spent the first four hours of their conventional school day spelling out the many dos, don'ts, and for-the-love-of-God-never's of various weaponry before actually allowing her to handle a gun. At that point, the intentionally-roughened handle seemed even heavier than it would have, given the accountability that she now knew came with it.

"Remember, Integra," Father had stated solemnly, as her fingers trembled on the trigger. "_You_ are the weapon here. This gun may have the components necessary to be a lethal force, but it lies on your shoulders as to how and why that force ought to be applied. You are the weapon of God, Queen, and country, and these are the only masters that ought to hold you accountable. A charge that isn't from them is not a charge at all, and you will remain a sheathed blade. _That_ is called responsibility."

Twelve-year-old Integra had taken these words and made them her Scripture. Twenty-two-year-old Integra could scarcely consider herself the same person anymore; they were adages of a whimsical fairy tale, in which the world was still right-side up and vampires were enemies, not comrades-in-arms.

She narrowed eyes, which were instinctively lapsing into their now-natural crimson state in lieu of an attacking opponent. Her world was far from what it had been; Father probably wouldn't have known his little Integra had he seen her now.

_Forgive me, Father._

For a moment, it seemed like she was seeing Serena's attack before it was even thrown into play; later, she would realize that this illusion was merely her subconscious interpretation of the barely perceptible muscle cues in the draculina's body before she sprang. Whatever the reason, she found herself more than ready as her opponent made her move.

In a shiver of pale moonlight across flowing auburn hair, Serena darted forward, needles flashing between her knuckles. Integra wasn't naïve enough to believe that this experienced assassin would train her with methods that were anything less than extreme; she was coming in for the kill. If Integra was unable to counter her onslaught, she was more likely to offer a sneer than a tear. That would be that.

Fortunately, _kill or be killed_ was a concept that Sir Integra Hellsing had been conditioned to from the cushioned depths of her first crib. The technique in which she was supposed to be staving off this attack, however, was not so familiar. Closing her eyes, Integra attempted to perform what Alucard had called a "simple" shape-shifting exercise.

_"Just close your eyes,"_ the vampire lord had said with his signature smirk. _"Focus on the blood within you—the blood that isn't __**yours**__. Remind your body that it is no longer human, and deflect that attack like a true walker of the night."_

Integra scowled. What a helpful explanation. Truly, he was the bloody _epitome_ of an instructive teacher.

Even bereft of her sight, she knew that there was no longer any time to dawdle around with some far-fetched attempt at inhuman abilities. If she wanted to survive, Integra had to act _now._

Her eyes flew open, and in the precious instant that remained to take in the situation, Integra was already moving. Not even deigning to remove herself from Serena's line of fire, she instead wrested a crippling hold on the attacker's outstretched wrist and twisted, feeling a thin line of satisfaction crease her lips as her vampiric strength sent the draculina face-first into the dirt. However, as the discipline of true combat never allowed for any luxuries such as gloating, she went on to draw her Walther PPK and fire two rounds, one in each of Serena's wrists.

The latter yelped as her digits were reduced to bloody stubble, but managed to raise what was left of them in a gesture of defeat. Integra clucked her tongue, but did not return the weapon to its holster.

"I've been trained to send vampires to Hell in the queen's name since I could walk," she stated. "I do hope that wasn't your attempt at an effective assault, Serena."

Her opponent's response was an unnecessarily loud ejection of bloody saliva and a delighted laugh.

"Oh dearie, of _course_ not. But you're the legendary _Sir_ Integra Hellsing; I had to see what you'd do." She looked down at her regenerating fingers, wincing as muscle wound its way over new bones. "You didn't have to be so drastic though," she added with a pout. "My nails were perfect, too. Damn."

"The hell she didn't." Alucard's rumbling baritone preceded him by mere seconds as he materialized out of the inky blackness cast by the nearby forest. "If you're getting up so soon, Starver, I'd say she wasn't drastic _enough._"

Serena tossed her mane of curls. "God, you're an animal," she retorted, but didn't sound too upset about it. In fact, her concluding wink hinted quite the opposite. Integra felt any shreds of satisfaction dissolve instantly.

"You don't even know the half of it," she stated archly to the imposing draculina, and realized only too late what underlying meaning her words could have implied. Serena, however, didn't miss it for a second.

Ohhhhh?" She turned her full attention to Integra, holding out that single syllable for a commendably long time. "I don't? Could you _enlighten_ me?" To Integra's utter horror, any ability to respond completely abandoned her, leaving her open to a second wave. Serena took full advantage, and added with a sultry wink, "I bet he's quite the monster in _bed_."

Alucard intervened for once. "That," he said in a tone remarkably light for his person. "Is something you'll never know, Gray." He stepped between the two, and Integra experienced a brief moment of reprieve. Salvation?

But the vampire lord wasn't finished. "On that note," he added, his voice dipping back into its conventional growl. "Why don't you sit here while I take Integra aside and teach her how to take some _real_ drastic action?"

Integra felt the skin along her cheekbones ignite as Serena laughed delightedly. She had been tricked!

_What a cruel and unforgiveable act of treachery,_ she mused as the darkness of Alucard's shadow enveloped her in what she knew was a teleportation. _I'll have to add that to my ever-growing list of reasons why I should have kept my position as his master._

As they rematerialized within the forest's murky borders, Integra found her voice again, and wasted no time in putting it to good use.

"You are a manipulative bastard," she ground out between gritted fangs.

"And _you_ are a slow learner. Didn't I tell you how to engage the shift?"

"What you _told_ me was some half-assed attempt at transcendental blood-sucker babble. I need _instructions_, Alucard!"

He actually sighed. "Integra, this isn't something I can teach you, like some child in grade school. It's instinct. To be honest, I thought your body would be forced into action under the pretense of attack, but those damned nerves of steel you have are simply too good for such simple devices."

She knew he was jibing her, and resented it more intensely than usual. "What a shame," she stated bitterly. "So now, what are you going to do?"

His response was immediate, coupled with an unsettling glimmer of fangs. "I'm going to surprise-attack you."

Integra snorted. "It won't be much of a surprise if you're going to warn me about it, half-wit." But her words fell on thin air; the vampire lord had disappeared.

Integra swallowed nervously.

_Bloody hell. How could __**I**__ of all people underestimated his speed?_

And then, _Dammit! There I go with innuendo again._

Genetically adjusted to the darkness of midnight, her eyes flicked around the shadowy boughs.

_Where is he? Above me? Below me? Behind me?_

_"I'm all around you, Integra."_

Alucard's voice in her mind, invasive as it was at the best of times, never failed to make her shiver. The thrill in her veins was further intensified when the meaning of his words set in.

_Oh God…did he __**swallow**__ me?_

Before panic could take its grip on her, the faux shadows around her receded, leaving Alucard's face a mere hair's breadth from hers.

"Surprise," he crooned before pressing his lips to hers.

Integra didn't even have time to breathe, much less think. This was far from the private moment shared under the bloodied moonlight of her first hunt. That kiss had been calming, a promise more sincere than any that he was there, and would not leave her side. This kiss was hungry, hungrier than the sting of his fangs that had taken her humanity from her. Hungry enough to match her own appetite that she had been trying to deny. A gasp escaped her as his fingers snaked up her back to tangled themselves in her long, pale blond hair. Unable to resist his advances, her lips parted to brush softly against his.

Such small reciprocation was all the encouragement Alucard needed. His free arm tightened across the small of her back, drawing her close to him. For a self-proclaimed killer, he was certainly deft with his tongue; it slid and savored and moistened, allowing their lips to glide easily against each other. As he pressed against her further, Integra felt the tips of his fangs. There was a moment of deafening pause, and her fragile skin split, releasing the tang of her blood into their mouths.

A tremor ran through Alucard's entire being, and Integra experienced a flash of muted rationality in the thought that this _probably_ wasn't the best timing for such frivolity...but then his tongue raked wetly across her lips. This was no master's technique to soften their kiss; it was as hot and heavy, ravenous as a untamed beast. And she _loved _it. Her mouth opened on its own accord, a silent plea for more. As his breath flooded her mouth, setting her on fire and driving all level thinking from her mind, their tongues met in the middle to dance a sinuous waltz of instinct and passion. She _felt_ so much; the advantage of her new-found vampiric senses became a double-edged sword that pierced her with waves at agonizing pleasure. Everything was added electricity that caused her sensitive nerves to jolt in ecstasy: his tongue twining around hers, the shared heat of their interlaced gasps, and the way the vampire lord's hands claimed possession of her body. The fingers of his right were twisted in her hair, trapping her while those of his left pressed into her buttock. Pulling and squeezing, he threatened to drive any remaining bit of common sense. At this rate, the ravenous beast that she had put so much effort into containing would be completely free, and that was unacceptable.

But _God _...if his free hand drifted just a little lower...

As if he had read her mind, Alucard slid hungrily probing fingers up under the fragile hem of her training shorts to explore the hyper-sensitive expanse of her inner thigh...and completely destroy her self-control. Integra's monster was free.

She wanted him. _Close_ wasn't close enough.

Extending the blood and power within her beyond the limitations of her physical form, she put the shape-shifting technique that Alucard had tried teaching her earlier to what, in her opinion, was a much more practical use. Tendrils of power snaked around the back of his neck, settling whatever height difference had once existed between them as she twined her legs around his waist. Fire pooled in her belly as his fingers dug into her thigh, and she tightened her legs excruciatingly to ease it. Then, not wanting to miss out on his spoils, Integra sank her teeth into his bottom lip, and his blood trickled into her mouth, hot and enticing.

With a snarl that she would forever look back upon and shudder in remorse over, Integra tried to angle her head so as to best draw the succulent flow from its tender-skinned source. Perhaps distracted to the point of clumsiness, Alucard seemed unable to bear their combined weight and toppled, landing them both solidly on the forest floor. The beast that had erupted from Integra uttered a roar of victory; she smoothly straddled her former servant to keep him pinned to the ground. Then, crouching over him like a predator feasting on her prey, she reclaimed his mouth to share with him the heady taste of their mingled blood. Her hips began to move on their own accord, gyrating in sensual rhythm against him and setting that deep throb ablaze all over again. Alucard moaned against her lips, but there was something maddening about this friction between her legs; she concluded that it was his clothes. Slowing her rhythm only slightly, Integra ignored the buttons of her servant's crimson coat and took to physically ripping it off.

It was then that she felt his resistance. This was subtle at first: the retreat of his hands from her buttocks to her waist, a softening in his kisses. Integra would have none of this; she abandoned tactics and made a dive for his belt buckle. But Alucard resisted, and his voice resonated, shaken, in her mind.

_"Well…I seem to have underestimated the strength of your inner beast once again, Integra Hellsing. While this has been beyond interesting, you might want to disentangle yourself before that nosy draculina comes looking for us."_

Ordinarily, reason would have done little to sway any draculina in this state of mind, but Integra's pride was a force to be reckoned with. The imagined scenario that unfolded in her subconscious was enough to reel her back into rationality.

She blinked. Twice.

_What…the…__**hell…**_

Realizing that the return of his former master's rationale might shift his position into a more precarious one, Alucard pulled back as much as her shifted embrace would allow and managed a twisted grin.

"I figured that if a flight-or-flight response wasn't enough to ignite your instinctual powers, it might benefit me to tap into the dominant beastly nature that I discovered…accidentally, following your first hunt. And what a surprise…I was correct."

Integra felt her face flush red as she noted the compromising position of her legs around his waist. She made a mad scramble for safety, slipping twice on the damp forest floor.

They sat apart from each other on the mossy ground, the silence of their surroundings broken only by their ragged breaths and the blood pounding in their ears. Then, Integra noticed the tendrils of dark energy that were emanating from her shoulder blades for the first time; she actually yelped and tried to jump back, causing them to dissolve into the night.

Gasping, she tried to collect her thoughts. "Dominant…beastly nature?" she recalled his words, wiping her hand across her lips and pulling it away bloody. The blaze in her belly was gone, leaving behind a dull tingling.

Alucard's grin widened impossibly."Yes. I believe the old crone explained it to you."

Integra's mind jumped back to that night faster than she wanted it to, recalling Yumi's words vividly.

_"Sexually."_

Words failed her yet again.

"You…"

Alucard stepped forward, placing a finger against her lips and sparing her the trouble.

"Come now, Integra. I think at this point, it's fair to say that we have quite a bit to discuss…" His fangs glinted in the night. "But not tonight. We can continue this conversation…and perhaps, that special training…once our enemies have been sent back to Hell." A growl entered his voice somewhere in there, but she was too dazed to react. She simply nodded, and he enveloped the two of them in darkness once again.

Serena was filing her nails when the pair stepped out of the shadows. Standing to greet them, she raised her hand in a mock salute, but paused when she saw Integra's disheveled hair and bloody lip. A sly smile spread across her face.

"Oh my," she purred, and paused again when she caught sight of Alucard's even bloodier lip and torn clothes. "Oh _my._" Then, she pointed at Integra. "It would appear that _you_ are the animal, my dear Sir Hellsing. Goodness, Alucard, she _ravaged_ you. Perhaps I've been misjudging your part in this little pairing."

"Serena," Integra stated coldly. "Do you know what tact is? At all?"

The draculina tossed her hair again. " 'fraid not, pumpkin. They never taught it in bloodsucker scho—_AHHH!_"

Neither Alucard nor Integra had time to react as their ally fell to her knees, head bowed in agony. "Don't!" she snarled, as they started to move towards her. "It's…it's Ame." Blood trickled from her nose, but she managed to raise her head to meet their gazes.

"She wants to know what the hell it is that I'm doing," she said in a forced state of calm. "She's not exactly happy…at all."

**Bah. I went ahead and rated it accordingly; I figured that the themes were at least a little adult. ;)**


	15. Crimson Strategem

**Aaaand the final update. Now I shall go on to writing new stuff for you dears. Enjoy!~**

"Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing…you are a weakling. Your very existence is a disgrace to our kind."

_Those were our words._

Her molten ebony eyes laced with hatred and cunning, Ame of the Ancient Line surveyed her servant's battered mind. Considering she had just dealt a crippling blow to Serena Gray's consciousness, the weakling was holding up surprisingly well. Of course, she was still groveling in silent agony before her...but she still managed to make eye contact.

_Just like that woman. Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing._

Without even deigning to speak to the writhing figure before her, the Queen strode forward and carved the symbol of her displeasure into her slave's heart, effectively severing their mental link and most likely causing too much pain to the latter for her senses to bear. She would speak to the Starver on the other side of consciousness.

_How we despise her._

* * *

><p>Serena knew she was unconscious before she even opened her eyes.<p>

She knew this because she had no eyes to open, and a state of virtual blindness had always been one of Ame's favorite punishing techniques.

Stranded in darkness blacker than night, the Starver managed a smile. So, this was Hell. Not like she hadn't been here before, but this time there was an excellent chance that she wouldn't live to visit again.

_Maybe now is when I get a taste of the real deal. Will this be the day that I die?_

Whether it was or wasn't, she knew for certain that she would wish for death. This was another specialty of Ame's. Serena licked her lips. She feared neither death nor pain at this point, but the latter was another helping on the pile of shit-she-didn't-want-to-deal-with.

"Serena Gray, we gave you specific orders, did we not?"

Ame's presence surrounded her, piercing her soul to the core with daggers of malice and the dominance she always held so blatantly over those she had subdued. Bowing under the pressure, Serena gritted her teeth and wished for all the world that she had somehow managed to maintain her senses. Once her victims were unconscious, the ancient draculina could bend their minds utterly to her whims. This was why, Serena was sure, her predecessor had been sent to knock Integra out the first time Ame tortured her.

"Still as charming as ever, I see," she managed. "It wouldn't kill us to give a decent hello now, would it? I can see you're still dealing with that troublesome personality disorder, too." She would pay dearly for her repartee, she knew. As always, Ame lived up to that expectation.

"I would have thought you'd grow tired of suffering needlessly at this point," the witch remarked as her reluctant servant shrieked on the ground before her; she was immersed in a nest of serpents with silver fangs. "Perhaps I'll amend my speaking habits if you amend your obviously masochistic tendencies."

Only then, as Serena lay in the dirt unable to do more than whimper in pain and fear as the unnatural adders struck viciously at her flesh again and again, did something occur to her. Ame probably slipped into that manner of speech because she had absorbed the powers of so many different vampires. She had probably lost her sense of individuality long ago, drowning in a sea of stolen blood and souls...

_Souls like my master's...death will never free him from a prison like that._

Serena tasted blood, and realized that she was crying. It just wasn't fair...

"Look at me, Gray."

The snakes dispersed as Ame spoke, and Serena nearly cried again at the sudden relief from pain. Despising her weakness to Ame's methods, she tried at her pain-in-the-ass tactics again, granted with less gusto than before.

"Well I _would_ dear, but some bitch put my eyes out."

Her vision returned with an overwhelming blast of light; her new eyes screamed in protest as Ame caught her jaw with cruel, talon-like fingers.

_**"Look. At. Us."**_

Serena looked. She didn't have a choice, really. God, she'd always hated Ame's eyes. A bloodsucker's eyes were what set them apart from their prey; such eyes ought to be hypnotic and alluring, capable of dazzling the humans' weaker minds with the same crimson hue as the blood they were about to lose. But Ame's eyes were as black as death, and scattered with flecks of gold that burned like the fires of Hell. They were hypnotic all right...but damn, she seemed downright demonic.

"So long as we hold you in our gaze, you cannot lie," Ame stated, all traces of venom slipping away to be replaced with a terrifying sense of calm. "You should know this by now, Gray."

Serena merely nodded. What she knew was the truth; Ame was in no way psychic to the point of being able to discern truth from lie, not even in the state of mental dominance. They were still within Serena's mind, after all. However, Ame had the power to..._impress_ upon her victims the necessity of honesty when her gaze was locked with theirs.

Serena knew this and Ame knew this. What Ame didn't know was that Serena had been training herself to resist this sort of pressure.

"We gave you specific orders," the malicious draculina repeated. "Orders which you have obviously not obeyed. Why, Serena?" Her ice-cold fingers loosened their grip on Serena's jaw before trailing down her throat to caress the exposed fragility of her jugular. Goosebumps followed in their wake, and it took all of the latter's self-control to not shudder in disgust. "If I don't like your answer," Ame continued with a toothy smile. "You will join your lover. Perhaps you'll be more useful as fuel to the furnace of my vindication."

_Stop talking about him. You don't have the right…_

Fighting past her fury, Serena maintained a sense of blank-faced composure and replied, "I was captured. I underestimated their guard, and am currently being held prisoner." Then, to satiate her own curiosity, "They were surprised that I had been sent to kill. I won't question your orders, but they do. They expected you to want Integra Hellsing alive."

Ame hissed, and her nails bit into Serena's skin. "I imagine it was my _sister_ who specifically stated that. We cannot abide her treachery; when it is time for her to die—and die she will—we will not tolerate her among us. We will break her body, and spill her soul out onto the ashes of her pathetic and idealistic world of human supremacy." Then, her mood shifted instantaneously; a sickly smile twisted her lips, and she drew her fingers—stained with Serena's blood—to her lips.

"She knows me well, of course," she continued. "It is true that only a fate worse than death will satisfy me in regards to Integra Hellsing. That is precisely why I ordered you not to spill any of her blood; you see, my dear little mongrel of a slave, we purebloods have our methods of cheating death. They are precise, but sacred to the point that not even _Alucard_ could know of them." A pleasured purr crept into her voice at the vampire lord's name. "The reek of her death will be such a painful blow to him, the poor dear," she crooned. "And indeed, he will come. But not for her. _He will come for revenge._"

"Which means you'll have Integra all to yourself." Serena stated this indifferently, but her head was spinning at the revelation of such wicked intent. Even for a vampire, this was...

"I see that you aren't entirely the base fool," Ame smirked, licking the last crimson drops from her digits. "Yes. Integra will be all mine; she will beg for God's damnation before I release her from my own. How many times, we wonder, will she die and be reborn only to die again? Hell will be her paradise, in retrospect. Only then will I extend my ambitions to their paramount...to Alucard, the Count of the Underworld, the One True Immortal. I will take his blood and his soul—but not to myself. No; his is a taste I wish to savor continuously throughout time." Her tongue slid around her stained lips, exposing a cruel flash of white. "Oh, the sinful satiation we will partake of make me tremble."

Serena felt quite sick.

"May I go?" _I've never needed to get away so desperately._

Ame released her without so much as a backward glance. "Go, and do not return to me without the object of my conquest. Know this, Gray: _we will not tolerate further failure._"

The ground dropped out beneath Serena, and she plunged into the depths of Hell.

* * *

><p>"Sir Integra! It's Miss Gray. She's comin' around!"<p>

These words, chirped as they were by a watchful Seras, did little to stir Integra from her stupor. Immersed in a thick cloud of Winzermans' finest, she did little more than twitch a steepled finger at the announcement. This wasn't to say that her thoughts were elsewhere, however.

When Serena had collapsed at the edge of the forest, convulsing in pain and bleeding from her eyes and mouth, the mere mention of Ame that she had managed before succumbing drove Alucard into immediate action. He had scooped her up in his arms and dissipated into the growing shadows, leaving Integra with nothing but an order to shoot anything that wasn't the Police Girl and the lingering tantalization of his blood on her lips.

Seras had arrived soon after; bless her, she hadn't offered a single question about Integra's rather disheveled state. Together, they had traveled back to the cottage, where Yumi and Alucard had transformed Yumi's lair into a sickroom. There they had gathered, almost completely wordless; it didn't need to be said that Serena's account of her meeting with Ame would determine their next course of action.

Of the three, Seras showed the most concern for their newest guest. It was almost odd, considering her recent hostility towards the shady draculina, but her worry was undeniable; the doe-eyed fledgling never left Serena's side once. Yumi spent the long hours of daylight entering and re-entering the room with various concoctions and whispered words to Seras; Alucard was nowhere to be seen.

Thus, Integra brooded. And smoked. She barely considered what had passed between Alucard and herself beneath the shadows of the woods; all she could think about was the one experience she had had with Ame, and that Serena was undergoing God knows what at that witch's mercy.

_While she hasn't exactly set herself in a favorable light for friendship or sympathy...God, I wouldn't wish that on anyone._

"Integra..."

Her name, barely whispered in Serena's cracked and broken voice, was what stirred Integra from her reverie. Dousing her cigar, she was at the Starver's side in an instant.

At first, Serena's eyes were closed; in fact, she looked no different than she had for the past twelve hours. Then, like a puppet drawn grotesquely towards its wielder on twisted threads, she jerked suddenly forward, eyes bulging and mouth opening in a soundless scream. Her fingers tore at her own throat, and bloody tears ran down her cheeks as she went into the throes of panic.

It took all three of them to placate her, and an entire hour before she was in any condition to speak rationally. It was only then, at the peak of dusk, that she recounted her experience between sips of soothing tea. For once, she didn't have any jibes to make towards England and its love of the leaf.

"So, we were to believe that Integra was dead," Yumi mused. "That's a new level of desecration, even for her." The older draculina closed her violet eyes with a sigh. "As Ancients, we were reborn with innate knowledge of Death and its ways, yes. However, we were also taught that to tread on such sacred ground was forbidden for a reason. My sister has lost all sense of herself if she would dare to go so far for a simple possession issue."

"This issue is far from simple."

These words came from Alucard; his voice preceded his presence, both of which were accompanied by a wave of goosebumps across Integra's skin.

Serena appraised Alucard from where she sat, bundled in blankets. "He's right," she said, then took a rather noisy sip of tea. "This is war...one which Ame never intended to fight fairly. She attempts only for victory, not for the glory of the struggle. She's not like you, Alucard." This last was said with a jerk of her ringlet-bound head in his direction. "To her, everything is simply a means to the end. You are that end. She wants you, dear. Badly."

"What a shame," Alucard stated calmly. "My...loyalty belongs to only one master."

Integra knew he was looking at her; she could feel the thrill of his gaze racing through her body. Her mind replayed their passionate encounter over and over again, stifling her sense of reason with excruciating details. She had never known that his tongue had been quite so...

"Enough!"

She had interrupted only herself; everyone else was staring at her.

A slight flush tinged her cheeks, but Integra brushed it all away. "Enough sitting around," she said, striding forward and purposefully avoiding Alucard's gaze. "Serena, I am honestly thrilled to see your recovery so far. Now, what should we do?"

Serena smirked. "I figured you'd cut right to the chase, Integra Hellsing. You seem the type to get right down to...business." It was then that Integra remembered how the rather perverted bloodsucker had been witness to the aftermath of her little episode with Alucard. She was actually relieved that Serena was well enough to jibe again.

Before she could retort, the former continued. "It's quite simple, really, but I'm going to need your promise of protection."

Integra raised her eyebrows. "From whom? Not from Ame, I hope; that would be an obviously pointless request."

"Oh, of course." Serena waved the suggestion away. "Not from Ame. I want protection from him." She pointed to Alucard.

Integra was now thoroughly curious. "Why on earth would you need such a thing?"

"Because my plan will include considerable risk to you in particular," Serena responded with a wry smile. "Sir Integra Hellsing, I'm going to have to kill you."

**Edit: Okay. I promised a new chapter before midnight tonight...but the fact is, it's midnight tonight, and I'm dead on my feet. I will have the new chapter (possibly two) posted tomorrow, though! I'm doing this for your sakes; my sleep-writing is gods-awful. ;) See you dears tomorrow.~**


	16. Her Secret Weapon

** -dogeza mode- I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I'm so completely unreliable. ;_; I swear, I meant to finish this before going to Japan, but things got so crazy…well, on a happier note, that means I don't have to rush things. But I'm still so very sorry. I'll get right to this.~**

"Sir Integra Hellsing, I'm going to have to kill you."

Serena's announcement, delivered coolly and forthrightly, threw the room into suffocating silence. Seras looked at Alucard, Alucard looked at Serena, and Serena looked at Integra.

Integra looked at nothing.

_Ah, so I'm the bait. _Her blue eyes, focused on nothing in particular, steeled over as she felt the beginnings of a familiar smirk lift her lips. _It's appropriate. I don't know why these fools are making such a big deal out of it, though._

And then, _Oh, God. I hope Alucard doesn't overreact._

Cringing inwardly at her mental simulation of such an outcome, Integra shook herself and shifted her gaze around the room. No one had moved; the tension was palpable.

"Well?" she demanded of the sparse bounty hunter, who was still scrutinizing her. "Weren't you going to add a little bit to that statement, Miss Gray?"

Serena made a big show of shoving her blankets aside and standing. Finally, with one last luxurious crack of her neck, she responded, "What? Something like 'Gotcha there!' or perhaps even mundane text-speak?" Her voice rose to a warbled pitch. "_LOL!_ JKaaaaaaay!" Integra ground her teeth, but the Starver's ditzy façade dropped at an alarming rate as she stated flatly, "No. I'm afraid there will be nothing like that, dear. You will have to die; Ame is far too perceptive in her many years of experience to fall for some half-assed possum trick."

"I agree." Alucard's voice caused Integra to jump apprehensively; she had been certain the next thing to be heard in his rumbling bass tone would be melodramatic threats as to Serena's fate, should she follow through on her words.

Apparently thinking along the same lines, Serena gaped at Alucard. "You…do?"

"Of course," came the reply. "I've talked with the crone—" a pointed nod at Yumi, who simply uttered a curt sigh. "—and fully understand the depth of Ame's cunning and sharp senses. It would be a stupid and pointless waste of our opportunity to fake Integra's death; Death is something Ame is all too well acquainted with, as a predator of the weak." An age-old grin of exuberance split his features. "Our opponent is a powerful one," he added with the barest hint of a snarl in his voice. "I've never met her like before."

"I'm sure that we are all very happy for you, Alucard," Yumi cut in coolly. "But, yes. Integra, I'm afraid that there isn't another way around this. Ame expects you dead; you cannot be brought to her any other way."

"…"

She didn't really feel anything; the threat of death had been a constant element of her work when she was alive. Frankly, if Integra Hellsing had to say anything about the verdict of her impending end, it would be that Fate had certainly taken its damned time in the matter.

_After all, I don't even have a heartbeat to stop anymore, _the former knight thought with a wry smile. Then, she addressed Serena, "It looks as though fortune is smiling on you; my protection isn't needed. I couldn't have promised so much if it were, you see."

"Aww, now you're just being modest, dearie," Serena cooed. "But we'll forgive you for that."

Integra arched a brow. "Hardly. I just know that if Alucard wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be strong enough to stop him. I certainly can't order him around anymore."

"You're wrong, draculina," Alucard interjected, curling a lip in Serena's direction. "Integra Hellsing spares no character for modesty. She is, however—" His gaze shifted to capture Integra, smoldering in the faux darkness of the room and stealing her breath away. "—incredibly oblivious."

As Integra struggled to suppress the fevered memories her former servant's complicated gaze had coaxed to the surface, Serena slowly clapped her hands.

"I think you've hit the nail on the head, pumpkin. Why don't you cure her of that?"

"That," Alucard stated without averting his eyes. "Is business that I would define to be 'personal'. Still, you have my word that it shall be addressed in as _timely_ a manner as possible."

"_**Enough!**_"

While the heated promises laden in Alucard's gaze burned her cheeks, Integra turned gratefully to Yumi. The Ancient One seemed to be in habit of swooping to her rescue, and she hadn't the dignity to spare to begrudge this fact. The fact remained that this admirable example of a proper British woman empathized with her, and did not share enjoyment of the same frivolities that her other companions did.

"Alucard, we haven't the time for this." Yumi stood to her full height, stopping short of the former's chin by a hair's breadth. Her conventionally mild lavender gaze was firm and reprimanding, and Integra found herself silently cheering her compatriot on.

"Haven't we?" the vampire lord echoed coolly.

_Of course not, you arrogant ass!_ Integra ground her teeth.

Yumi didn't even blink. "Not in the slightest. This situation is dire."

_That's right, Yumi. Stand your ground. As someone with the rare claim of seniority over this upstart, I leave it to you to put him in his place._

"I suppose you have a point, crone," Alucard conceded.

_After centuries of unlife, I'm amazed at your minute perception._ Integra found herself nodding minutely, thoroughly satisfied with Yumi's strength of character.

"Of course I do," the ancient draculina said. Then, an impish grin crossed her features. "You can flirt with Integra later."

"W-why…you…" Reduced to a ball of stuttering shock by this ultimate betrayal, Integra could only gape in horror as Yumi joined her lewd-minded antagonists

"Traitorous witch?" the latter suggested helpfully, and Integra jerked her head in numb affirmation. Now that even an ancient of millennial wisdom and perception was addressing this—_issue_, it suddenly seemed a little too real for her. The world spun dizzyingly, until gentle hands anchored her by the shoulders and drew her back to the now-somber gaze of the Nightingale. "Integra—" Her voice was silken, soothing and warm like a mug of tea on an irritated throat. "I make light of the situation, but in reality, you could not be more blessed by it."

"_Blessed?"_ Integra blinked, realizing suddenly that these words were spoken only in the conclave of her deepest thoughts. Yumi had not done her the embarrassment of speaking aloud. This conversation was…private.

"_You should never disown the feelings in your heart, be it beating or not,_ Yumi continued, her words accompanied with a motherly smile. _Love is an element that transcends Death. Consider it…your secret weapon. And believe me, my dear—Death is a reality that you must face all too soon. It will ravage you, and terrify you; you will be lost, Integra. But you are blessed, because __**he**__ will surely find you again."_

"_He will?"_

Drawn like a moth to its fiery death, Integra's eyes fixated on Alucard. Every fiber in her being spat upon Yumi's words; _love_ had been a weakling's hobby, something she sneered upon in public, but secretly regretted her inability to access. To _love_ was an ability she had sacrificed long ago for her duties; to love _Alucard_ was…was…

Fire and ice cascaded in unison, a complicated shock of shivers down her spine…because at that moment, Alucard's eyes met hers with purpose, fixating her and driving all thought and breath from her body. His gaze spoke neither of bloodlust, nor the pride of a nightmarish beast towards its master; it was a promise, an oath of passion and loyalty that he emphasized with resonant words in her heart and mind:

"_I will always find you, Integra. Death cannot keep me from your side. Nothing can."_

'**Twas a short chapter. –shot- I meant it to be longer. I swear. I meant this chapter to cover strategies and stuff…but it got mushy instead. Bah. Don't hate me. **


End file.
